Table 1.
Main characteristics of eligible studies.
| Characteristics | Number of studies | Number of patients |
|---|---|---|
| All eligible studies | 22 | 12829 |
| Year of publication | ||
| 2014 | 3 | 1272 |
| 2015 | 13 | 2951 |
| 2016 | 6 | 8606 |
| Endpoint used | ||
| OS | 18 | 11610 |
| CSS | 6 | 1770 |
| DFS/RFS | 13 | 8338 |
| Method to get UVA HR | ||
| Reported | 16 | 10853 |
| Estimated | 6 | 1976 |
| Multivariate analysis | ||
| Performed | 21 | 12527 |
| Unperformed | 1 | 302 |
| Anatomic structure | ||
| Gastrointestinal tract | 17 | 11340 |
| Nongastrointestinal tract | 5 | 1489 |
| Tumor site | ||
| Esophagus | 3 | 892 |
| Stomach | 3 | 1741 |
| Colorectal | 11 | 8707 |
| Liver | 2 | 660 |
| Pancreas | 3 | 829 |
| Stage | ||
| NMS | 11 | 9412 |
| Mixed | 3 | 1789 |
| MS | 8 | 1628 |
| Ethnicity | ||
| Asian | 16 | 11285 |
| Non-Asian | 6 | 1544 |
| Cut-off value | ||
| <3.0 | 10 | 9272 |
| ≥3.0 | 12 | 3557 |
| Treatment | ||
| With surgery | 18 | 12210 |
| No surgery | 4 | 619 |
OS: overall survival; CSS: cancer-specific survival; DFS: disease-free survival; RFS: recurrence-free survival; UVA: univariate analysis; HR: hazard ratio; NMS: nonmetastatic stage; MS: metastatic stage.