Prognostic role of vascular endothelial growth factor in prostate cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
The objective of this study was to perform a meta-analysis and literature review on the predictive role of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in prostate cancer. A detailed literature search was performed using PubMed and Embase databases for related research publications written in English. Methodological quality of the studies was also evaluated. Data was collected from studies comparing overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), disease-free survival (DFS), biomedical failure (BF) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) in patients with elevated VEGF levels and those having lower levels. The hazard ratio (HR) and its 95% confidence interval (CI) were used to assess the strength of associations. A total of 12 studies (n = 1,737) were included in this meta-analysis (4 for OS, 3 for CSS, 2 for DFS, 4 for BF, and 4 for PFS). For OS, DFS and PFS, the pooled HR for VEGF was not statistically significant at 1.30 (95% CI, 0.74-2.29), 0.80 (95% CI, 0.57-1.13) and 1.04 (95% CI, 0.93-1.16), respectively. However, for CSS and BF, the pooled HR was 2.32 (95% CI, 1.20-4.46) and 1.30 (95% CI, 1.06-1.59), respectively. Our results demonstrate that VEGF may have a critical prognostic value in patients with prostatic cancer.
Department of Medical Oncology, Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200072, China.
Zhu-Qing
ZQ
Liu
Department of Medical Oncology, Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200072, China.
Jue-Min
JM
Fang
Department of Medical Oncology, Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200072, China.
Yuan-Yuan
YY
Xiao
Department of Medical Oncology, Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200072, China.
Yu
Y
Zhao
Department of Medical Oncology, Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200072, China.
Ran
R
Cui
Department of Medical Oncology, Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200072, China.
Fei
F
Hu
Department of Medical Oncology, Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200072, China.
Qing
Q
Xu
Vascular endothelial growth factor; meta-analysis; prognosis; prostate cancer