Table 2. Methodological assessment by ELCWP score, according to trials characteristics: (A) all trials and (B) evaluable trials for meta-analysis.
| Global score (%) | Design (/10) | Laboratory methodology (/10) | Generalisability (/10) | Results analysis (/10) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (A) All trials | ||||||
| Total (n=28) | All studies | 54.6 | 4.0 | 6.1 | 6.7 | 5.0 |
| Patient number P-value | 0.0015 | 0.03 | 0.03 | 0.03 | 0.008 | |
| Evaluable for the MA (n=25) | 54.6 | 4.0 | 6.4 | 6.7 | 5.0 | |
| Not evaluable for the MA (n=3) | 54.2 | 5.0 | 7.8 | 6.7 | 5.0 | |
| P-value | 0.53 | 0.28 | 0.17 | 0.91 | 0.50 | |
| Positive (n=11) | 51.5 | 4.0 | 5.7 | 6.6 | 5.0 | |
| Negative (n=17) | 54.6 | 5.0 | 7.14 | 6.6 | 5.0 | |
| P-value | 0.27 | 0.07 | 0.44 | 0.48 | 0.94 | |
| IHC Ab clone 100 (n=5) | 59.4 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 6.7 | 7.5 | |
| IHC Ab clone 124 (n=21) | 52.1 | 4.0 | 6.1 | 6.7 | 5.0 | |
| P-value | 0.25 | 0.81 | 0.54 | 0.54 | 0.08 | |
| (B) Evaluable trials for meta-analysis | ||||||
| Evaluable for the MA (n=25) | All studies | 54.6 | 4.0 | 6.4 | 6.7 | 5.0 |
| Patient number P-value | 0.004 | 0.09 | 0.03 | 0.045 | 0.01 | |
| Positive (n=11) | 51.5 | 4.0 | 5.7 | 6.7 | 5.0 | |
| Negative (n=14) | 57.0 | 5.0 | 6.8 | 7.1 | 5.6 | |
| P-value | 0.35 | 0.01 | 0.64 | 0.53 | 0.80 | |
| IHC Ab clone 100 (n=5) | 59.4 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 6.7 | 7.5 | |
| IHC Ab clone 124 (n=18) | 50.3 | 4.0 | 5.7 | 6.7 | 5.0 | |
| P-value | 0.10 | 0.07 | 0.37 | 0.07 | 1.0 | |
Score distributions are summarised by median values. Positive=studies identifying Bcl-2 positivity as significant good prognostic factor for survival; negative=studies reporting nonsignificant results, or associating Bcl-2 positivity with poor survival; MA=meta-analysis; IHC=immunohistochemistry. The values in bold were significant.