Table 3. Hazard ratio (HR) value for the NSCLC subgroup according to histology, stage and laboratory technique.
| Nb | Patients | Fixed effects HR (95% CI) | χ2 Heterogeneity test | Random effects HR (95% CI) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 28 | 3620 | 1.30 (1.20–1.49) | P=0.01 | 1.35 (1.16–1.56) | |
| Histology | Squamous | 4 | 280 | 1.49 (0.88–2.52) | P=0.48 | |
| ADC | 15 | 1436 | 1.52 (1.30–1.78) | P=0.02 | 1.59 (1.26–2.02) | |
| Disease stage | Stages I | 5 | 562 | 1.26 (0.94–1.69) | P=0.43 | |
| Stages I–III | 7 | 882 | 1.20 (0.93–1.53) | P=0.42 | ||
| Stages I–IV | 11 | 1553 | 1.25 (1.04–1.50) | P<0.001 | 1.41 (0.99–1.99) | |
| Laboratory method | IHC | 7 | 989 | 1.08 (0.86–1.34) | P=0.21 | |
| PCR | 23 | 2631 | 1.39 (1.22–1.58) | P=0.03 | 1.40 (1.18–1.65) | |
| PCR subgroups | RFLP | 6 | 765 | 1.70 (1.31–2.19) | P=0.53 | |
| SSCP | 3 | 361 | 1.32 (0.72–1.47) | P=0.06 | ||
| ADC | IHC | 4 | 266 | 1.57 (1.13–2.16) | P=0.01 | 1.48 (0.76–2.87) |
| PCR | 11 | 1170 | 1.50 (1.26–1.80) | P=0.1 |
Nb=number of studies; ADC=adenocarcinomas; IHC=immunohistochemistry; PCR=polymerase chain reaction; SSCP=single-strand conformation polymorphism; RFLP=restriction fragment length polymorphism; statistically significant results are in bold.