Table 2.
Baseline characteristics of the studies in the meta-analysis
| Studies | Year | Country | Tumor type | Sample size (male/female) | Mean age (years) | Vein invasion (yes/no) | Stage (I–II/III–IV) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zhou et al18 | 2012 | People’s Republic of China | HCC | 74/46 | 48.5 | 26/94 | 32/88 |
| Yu et al26 | 2014 | People’s Republic of China | HCC | 70/62 | 50.3 | 70/62 | 49/83 |
| Zhang19 | 2010 | People’s Republic of China | HCC | 33/7 | NA | NA | 31/9 |
| Ahn et al30 | 2013 | Korea | HCC | 237/51 | 52.6 | 13/275 | 225/63 |
| Zhang et al27 | 2013 | People’s Republic of China | HCC | 74/36 | 66.7 | 26/84 | 60/50 |
| Zhang et al28 | 2012 | People’s Republic of China | HCC | 65/13 | NA | NA | 35/43 |
| Pan et al29 | 2014 | People’s Republic of China | HCC | 32/10 | NA | NA | 38/4 |
|
| |||||||
| Studies | Multivariate analysis | Tumor size (<5 cm/>5 cm) | Analysis method | Evaluation method | Metastasis (yes/no) | Tumor number (single/multiple) | Differentiation (W/M+P) |
|
| |||||||
| Zhou et al18 | Yes | 51/69 | IHC | CS | 38/82 | 87/33 | 41/79 |
| Yu et al26 | Yes | 52/80 | IHC | CS | 68/64 | 84/48 | 29/103 |
| Zhang19 | Yes | 10/30 | RT-PCR | CS | 27/13 | NA | 9/31 |
| Ahn et al30 | Yes | 190/98 | IHC | CS | NA | NA | NA |
| Zhang et al27 | Yes | 53/57 | IHC | CS | NA | 57/53 | 24/86 |
| Zhang et al28 | No | 45/33 | IHC | CS | 28/50 | NA | 45/33 |
| Pan et al29 | No | 31/11 | IHC | Percentage of positive cells | NA | NA | 4/38 |
|
| |||||||
| Studies | Follow-up (months) | Outcome indexes | Hazard ratio (95% CI) | Notch-1 (H/L) | “High” Notch-1 cutoff level | Notch-1 staining | Study quality# (points) |
|
| |||||||
| Zhou et al18 | 60 | OS | 2.09 (1.26–3.45) | 64/56 | ≥5 | Cytoplasm membrane | 6/9 |
| Yu et al26 | 36 | OS | 1.39 (1.07–1.81) | 72/60 | ≥5 | Cytoplasm membrane | 6/9 |
| Zhang19 | 31 | OS | 1.28 (0.42–4.68)* | 20/20 | NA | NA | 5/9 |
| Ahn et al30 | 97.1 | DFS | 1.40 (1.03–1.89) | 145/143 | ≥4 | Cytoplasm membrane | 7/9 |
| Zhang et al27 | NA | OS | 1.88 (1.09–3.26) | 48/62 | ≥5 | Cytoplasm membrane | 5/9 |
| Zhang et al28 | NA | NA | NA | 52/26 | ≥3 | Cytoplasm | 5/9 |
| Pan et al29 | NA | NA | NA | 24/18 | >10% | Cytoplasm membrane nucleus | 5/9 |
Notes:
*
Estimated by survival curves.
#
Study quality was judged based on the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale (range 1–9).
Abbreviations: HCC, hepatocellular carcinoma; NA, not available; W, well differentiation; M+P, moderate and poor differentiation; IHC, immunohistochemistry; CS, complex scoring; RT-PCR, real-time polymerase chain reaction; H, high expression; L, low expression; OS, overall survival; DFS, disease-free survival.