Table 7. Analysis of Primary and Secondary Outcomes by Categories.
| Category | No. RCTs | NAC | SA | RR | WMD | 95% CI | P |
| 3-year survival | 6 | 221/337 (65.58%) | 230/381 (60.37%) | 1.18 | 0.86–1.61 | 0.30 | |
| 5-year survival | 7 | 245/418 (58.61%) | 261/471 (55.41%) | 1.20 | 0.93–1.56 | 0.17 | |
| Survival months | 2 | 51.29 (n = 101) | 45.99 (n = 102) | −0.29 | −23.98 to 23.41 | 0.98 | |
| Total mortality | 8 | 186/458 (40.61%) | 226/491 (46.03%) | 0.83 | 0.65–1.06 | 0.14 | |
| Perioperative mortality | 5 | 5/218 (2.29%) | 2/168 (1.19%) | 2.54 | 0.50–12.77 | 0.26 | |
| Death due to recurrence/progression | 2 | 36/101 (35.64%) | 41/102 (40.20%) | 0.89 | 0.62–1.26 | 0.50 | |
| Tumor stage upon resection (ypT0-2) | 6 | 236/394 (59.90%) | 183/445 (41.12%) | 1.24 | 0.80–1.92 | 0.34 | |
| Nodal stage upon resection (ypN0) | 3 | 38/148 (25.68%) | 20/118 (16.95%) | 1.92 | 1.20–3.06 | 0.006 | |
| R0 resection | 4 | 154/245 (62.86%) | 147/236 (62.29%) | 1.02 | 0.89–1.17 | 0.81 | |
| Postoperative complications | 6 | 41/320 (12.81%) | 48/391 (12.28%) | 1.14 | 0.77–1.70 | 0.51 |
RCTs, randomized controlled trials; NAC, neoadjuvant chemotherapy; SA, surgery alone; RR, risk ratio; WMD, weighted mean difference; 95% CI, 95% confidence interval.