Table 1. Characteristics of studies included in the meta-analysis.
| Author | Date | Tumor Type | Region | Sample size | Age of analyzed population (years) | Clinical stage of tumour | Follow-up (months)(median and range) | Treatment | Cut-off value | Outcome | Survival analysis | Quality Score (NOS) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nozoe T | 2010 | Gastric carcinoma | Japan | 248 | (27–89) PNI H: 64.4 ± 11.1PNI L: 70.1 ± 8.6 | TNM I–IV(Japanese Classification of Gastric Carcinoma) | (1.7–110) | surgery | 49.7 | OS | multivariate analysis | 5 |
| Nozoe T | 2012 | Colorectal carcinoma | Japan | 219 | (24–90)PNI H: 69.8 ± 11.6 PNI L:74.5 ± 8.8 | TNM I–IV(the 7th edition of the International Union against Cancer TNM Classification of Malignant Tumors) | (2–86) | surgery | 40 | OS | multivariate analysis | 4 |
| Pinato DJ | 2012 | Hepatocellular carcinoma | Japan | 112 | 65 (20–83) | A-D (BCLC stage) |
NA | surgery | 45 | OS | univariate analysis multivariate analysis | 6 |
| Watanabe M | 2012 | Gastric carcinoma | Japan | 99 | PNI H:79.2 ± 3.6 PNI L:80.3 ± 4.2 | TNM I–IV (3rd English edition Japanese classification of gastric carcinoma) | (1–60) | surgery | 44.7 | OS | univariate analysis multivariate analysis | 5 |
| Migita K | 2013 | Gastric carcinoma | Japan | 548 | 67 (24–89) | TNM I–IV (7th edition of the American Joint Committee on Cancer TNM classification system) | 45.1 | surgery | 48 | OS | univariate analysis multivariate analysis | 7 |
| Mohri Y | 2013 | Colorectal carcinoma | Japan | 365 | NA | TNM I–IV (the 7th edition of the International Union against Cancer TNM Classification of Malignant Tumors) | NA | surgery | 45 | OS and Post-operative complications | univariate analysis multivariate analysis | 6 |
| Maeda K | 2014 | Colorectal carcinoma | Japan | 100 | 60.4 ± 10.6 (39–87) | TNM IV (the 7th edition of the International Union against Cancer TNM Classification of Malignant Tumors) | NA | surgery: Palliative Resection |
40 | OS | univariate analysis multivariate analysis | 5 |
| Feng JF | 2014 | Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma | China | 375 | 59.1 ± 7.8 (36–80) | NA | (3–25) | surgery | 42 | CSS | univariate analysis multivariate analysis | 4 |
| Ishizuka M | 2014 | Gastric carcinoma | Japan | 154 | PNI H:64 ± 12 PNI L:69 ± 12 | TNM I-IV and Type 0–5 (2nd English edition OF the Japanese classification of gastric carcinoma) | NA | surgery | 45 | OS | univariate analysis multivariate analysis | 7 |
| Jiang N | 2014 | Gastric carcinoma | China | 386 | 60 (20–80) | TNM I–IV (7th edition of the American Joint Committee on Cancer TNM classification system) | 39 (1–103) |
surgery | 46 | OS and Post-operative complications | univariate analysis multivariate analysis | 7 |
| Ikeya T | 2015 | Colorectal carcinoma | Japan | 80 | 63 (36–80) | TNM I–IV (the 7th edition of the International Union against Cancer TNM Classification of Malignant Tumors) | 30.5 | chemotherapy | 44.5 | OS | univariate analysis multivariate analysis | 6 |
| Okamura Y | 2015 | Hepatocellular carcinoma | Japan | 341 | 69.5 (30–86) | TNM I–IV (the 7th edition of the International Union against Cancer TNM Classification of Malignant Tumors) | NA | surgery: Hepatectomy | 48.5 | OS and DFS | multivariate analysis | 5 |
| Chan AW | 2015 | Hepatocellular carcinoma | China | 324 | 56.8 ± 10.9 PNI H:55.9 ± 10.7PNI L:59.3 ± 11.0 | 0-A (BCLC stage) |
NA | surgery | 45 | OS and DFS | univariate analysis multivariate analysis | 6 |
| Sun KY | 2015 | Gastric carcinoma | China | 632 | 57 (19–89) | TNM I–IV (7th edition of the American Joint Committee on Cancer TNM classification system) | 55.75 (0.8–186) |
gastrectomy and chemotherapy | 48 | OS | univariate analysis multivariate analysis | 5 |
| Shibutani M | 2015 | Colorectal carcinoma | Japan | 218 | 69 (42–86) | TNM I–IV (the 7th edition of the International Union against Cancer TNM Classification of Malignant Tumors) | NA | surgery | 45 | OS | univariate analysis multivariate analysis | 6 |
| Proctor MJ | 2011 | Colorectal carcinoma | Scotland | 374 | NA | A–D (Dukes stage) |
51 (18–115) |
NA | 45 | OS and CSS | multivariate analysis | 7 |
| Kinoshita A | 2012 | Hepatocellular carcinoma | Japan | 150 | 72 (43–91) | TNM I–IV (TNM classification of the liver Cancer Study group of Japan) |
18 (1–80) |
Surgical resection performed in 9 patients | 45 | OS | univariate analysis multivariate analysis | 6 |
| Nozoe T | 2002 | Oesophageal carcinoma | Japan | 258 | 63.6 ± 9.5 | TNM I–IV (TNM stage of the Japanese Society for esophageal Diseases) |
32 (1–110) |
surgery:Oesophageal resection and reconstruction | 46 | OS and Post-operative complications | Stepwise logistic regression analysis | 4 |
| Kanda M | 2011 | Pancreatic carcinoma | Japan | 268 | 63 (35–83 | TNM I–IV (the 7th edition of the International Union against Cancer staging Classification of Pancreatic cancer) |
NA | surgery:Pancreatectomy | 45 | OS | univariate analysis multivariate analysis | 6 |
| Wang DS | 2012 | Pancreatic carcinoma | China | 177 | NA | TNM I-IV (the 7th edition of TNM staging of AJCC) |
31.33 (10.80–59.70) |
Macroscopically radical surgery performed in 31 patients; bypass or stenting surgery performed in 49 patients |
45 | OS | univariate analysis multivariate analysis | 5 |
| Geng Y | 2015 | Pancreatic carcinoma | China | 321 | PNI H:60.4 ± 11.0 PNI L:62.2 ± 10.2 | TNM III-IV (6th edition of the International Union Against Cancer) |
NA | chemotherapy | 47.3 | OS | univariate analysis multivariate Cox regression analyses | 6 |
| Eo WK | 2015 | Gastric carcinoma | Korea | 314 | 59 (25–92) | TNM I-III (the 7th edition of TNM staging of AJCC) |
36.5 (1.7–91.4) |
surgery:curative surgical resection | 47.3 | OS and DFS | univariate analysis multivariate analysis | 6 |
| Jian-Hui C | 2015 | Colorectal carcinoma | China | 1321 | 57.5 (18-91) | TNM I–IV (7th edition of the American Joint Committee on Cancer TNM classifcation system)A-D(Dukes stage) | NA | surgery | 45 | OS | univariate analysis multivariate analysis | 6 |