Table 1. Main characteristics of the eligible studies.
| First author | Year | Stage | Median age | No. of patients | Histological type | Ethnicity | Median follow-up (month) | Methods to assess TIMP-2 expression | High expression | HR estimation | HR (95%CI) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zhu ZH* | 2009 | IB | 56.4 | 148 | NR | Chinese | 31 | IHC | NR | HR + 95% CI | 0.63 (0.37–1.14) |
| Cao JW* | 2010 | I-IV(Ⅰ:39 Ⅱ:33 Ⅲ:34 IV:7) | 60 | 113 | SCC(65) AdCa(48) | Chinese | 33 | IHC | 76 (67.3%) | Survival curve | 0.64 (0.38–1.08) |
| Lv ZQ* | 2006 | I-IV(Ⅰ:25 Ⅱ:12 Ⅲ:4 IV:1) | 61 | 42 | SCC(15) AC(27) | Chinese | 25 | IHC | NR | Available data | 0.52 (0.27–0.98) |
| Li HG* | 2001 | NR | 55 | 42 | SCC(15) AC(27) | Chinese | 35.5 | IHC | 13 (31%) | Survival curve | 0.39 (0.20–0.77) |
| Suemitsu R* | 2004 | I-IV(Ⅰ:31 Ⅱ:3 Ⅲ:18 IV:2) | 62 | 54 | SCC(21) AC(33) | Japanese | 31.5 | ELISA | 18 (33.3%) | Survival curve | 0.96 (0.33–2.81) |
| Zhou JH | 2006 | I-III(Ⅰ:11 Ⅱ:21 Ⅲ:11) | 57.9 | 43 | SCC(21) AC(22) | Chinese | NA | SP | 26 (60.5%) | NA | NA |
| Zhang LG | 2004 | I-IV(Ⅰ:114 Ⅱ:109 Ⅲ:38 IV:6) | NR | 267 | SCC(153) AC(114) | Chinese | NA | IHC | 63 (19.2%) | NA | NA |
| Iniesta P | 2006 | I-IV(Ⅰ:67 Ⅱ:8 ⅢA:25 ⅢB:9 IV:2) | 63.56 | 111 | SCC(61) AC(46) LCUC(4) | Spanish | 60 | ELISA | NR | NA | NA |
| Michael M | 1999 | NR | 62.9 | 46 | NR | Canadian | 27.5 | IHC | > 70% | NA | NA |
| Lim BJ | 2009 | I-IV(Ⅰ:11 Ⅱ:8 ⅢA:19 ⅢB:3 IV:2) | 60.3 | 43 | SCC(31) AC(12) | Korean | 65.5 | IHC | NR | NA | NA |
| Yang DY | 2005 | NR | 53.5 | 32 | SCC(14) AC(18) | Chinese | 30.5 | FCM | NR | NA | NA |
| Kumaki F | 2001 | IA-IIIB(Ⅰ:20 Ⅱ:2 ⅢA:4 ⅢB:1) | 66 | 27 | AC(27) | American | 60.5 | IHC | NR | NA | NA |
IHC: Immunohistochemistry; SP: streptavidin–peroxidase; ELISA: enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; FCM: flow cytometry; TIMP-2: tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-2; HR: hazard ratio; CI: confidence interval; NR: not reported; NA: not available; SCC: squamous cell carcinoma; AdCa: adenosquamous carcinoma; AC: Adenocarcinoma; LCUC: Large Cell Carcinoma;
*studies included in the meta-analysis