Table 3.

Meta-regression analysis

Variable	Coefficient	Standard error	P value	95% CI
Study location
Asia	−1.833	0.568	0.002	−2.979–-0.688
South America	−2.109	0.578	0.001	−3.273–-0.945
Europe	−2.582	0.607	0.001	−3.807–-1.357
Type of EC	−0.678	0.327	0.047	−1.348–-0.009
Sample size	−0.403	0.183	0.033	−0.771–-0.034

Abbreviations: EC = esophageal cancer.