Table 1.
Characteristics of studies included for the meta-analysis.
| First author | Year | Country | Patient (P/N) | VEGF source | Method | Disease type | Method to determine the threshold | VEGF positive threshold | HR (95% CI) of OS | Therapy regimen | Quality score | Study type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Riihijärvi [16] | 2012 | Finland | 102 (25/77) | Serum | ELISA | DLBCL | Highest quartile | 947 pg/mL | 1.096 (0.435–2.762) | R-CHOEP + methotrexate, cytarabine | 9 | P |
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| Bortolin [15] | 2012 | Italy | 68 (33/35) | Serum | ELISA | NHL | Median value | 250 pg/mL | 1.21 (0.51–2.89) | ACVBP/CHOP/CHOP like + partial rituximab | 6 | P |
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| Rujirojindakul [14] | 2012 | Thailand | 79 (NA) | Serum | ELISA | NHL | Median value | 516 pg/mL | 0.99 (0.51–1.9) | CHOP/R-CHOP | 7 | P |
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| Labidi [17] | 2010 | France | 60 (NA) | Serum | ELISA | FL | Median value | 138 pg/mL | 1.002 (0.999–1.005) | CHOP like | 5 | R |
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| Bono [18] | 2003 | Finland | 143 (46/97) | Serum | ELISA | NHL | Highest tertile | 465 pg/mL | 1.28 (0.75–2.16) | CHOP/CHOP like | 6 | P |
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| Niitsu [19] | 2002 | Japan | 149 (73/76) | Serum | ELISA | NHL | Median value | 242 pg/mL | 8.71 (2.57–29.53) | CHOP/CHOP like | 8 | P |
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| Salven [20] | 2000 | America | 200 (50/150) | Serum | ELISA | NHL | Highest quartile | 462 pg/mL | 1.83 (1.1–3.02) | Bleo-CHOP/M-BACOD | 6 | R |
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| Kim [21] | 2011 | Korea | 51 (30/21) | Surgical tissue | IHC | DLBCL | Percentage of positive cells | Any staining | 1.329 (0.695–2.541) | Methotrexate-based chemotherapy + WBRT | 6 | R |
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| Zhang [22] | 2011 | China | 38 (31/7) | Surgical tissue | IHC | PTL | Intensity score and percentage of positive cells score | Multiplying the intensity core by expressions core >2 | 7.633 (1.634–35.714) | CHOP/CHOP like | 9 | P |
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| Paydas [23] | 2009 | Turkey | 177 (108/69) | Surgical tissue | IHC | NHL | Percentage of positive cells | 10% | 1.578 (1.03–2.418) | Anthracycline containing regimens | 7 | R |
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| Citak [24] | 2008 | Turkey | 25 (10/15) | Surgical tissue | IHC | NHL | Percentage of positive cells | Any staining | NA | BFM, LMT regimens | 7 | R |
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| Gratzinger [25] | 2008 | America | 172 (75/97) | Surgical tissue | IHC | DLBCL | Percentage of positive cells | 30% | NA | CHOP/CHOP like | 8 | R |
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| Pazgal [26] | 2007 | Israel | 36 (21/15) | Surgical tissue | IHC | DLBCL | Percentage of positive cells | 30% | 2.579 (1.007–6.606) | CHOP/CHOP like | 6 | R |
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| Ganjoo [27] | 2008 | America | 44 (22/22) | Surgical tissue | IHC | DLBCL | Percentage of positive cells | 10% | 3.421 (0.941–12.447) | CHOP | 5 | R |
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| Jørgensen [5] | 2007 | Denmark | 103 (64/49) | Surgical tissue | IHC | FL | Staining pattern | Diffuse pattern | 2.682 (1.533–4.693) | CHOP like + radiotherapy | 7 | R |
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| Hazar [28] | 2003 | Turkey | 71 (24/47) | Surgical tissue | IHC | NHL | Percentage of positive cells | Any staining | 1.391 (0.745–2.597) | Na | 4 | R |
P/N, the number of positive/negative VEGF expression; VEGF, vascular endothelial growth factor; IHC, immunohistochemistry; ELISA, enzyme linked immunosorbent assay; DLBCL, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma; NHL, Non-Hodgkin lymphoma; FL, follicular lymphoma; NA, not available; HR, hazard ratio; 95% CI, 95% confidence interval; OS, overall survival; P, prospective; R, retrospective.
R-CHOEP, rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, etoposide, and prednisone; ACVBP, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, vindesine, bleomycin, and prednisone; CHOP, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone; M-BACOD, methotrexate, bleomycin, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, and dexamethasone; WBRT, whole brain radiation therapy.