Table 2. Meta-analysis of PLR and OS, DFS.
| Factors | No. of studies | No. of patients | HR (95% CI) | p | Effects model | Heterogeneity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I2 (%) | Ph | ||||||
| Overall for OS | 6 | 3,679 | 1.55 (1.07–2.25) | 0.022 | Random | 67.3 | 0.009 |
| Region | |||||||
| Asian | 4 | 2,449 | 1.26 (0.85–1.85) | 0.251 | Random | 52.2 | 0.099 |
| Non-Asian | 2 | 1,230 | 2.36 (1.58–3.52) | < 0.001 | Fixed | 0 | 0.427 |
| Treatment | |||||||
| Systemic treatment | 3 | 2,665 | 1.78 (1.06–2.99) | 0.03 | Random | 76.6 | 0.014 |
| Chemotherapy | 1 | 177 | 2.82 (1.09–7.26) | 0.032 | – | – | – |
| Radiotherapy | 1 | 350 | 0.7 (0.37–1.31) | 0.264 | – | – | – |
| Surgery | 1 | 487 | 1.42 (0.76–2.68) | 0.273 | – | – | – |
| Sample size (n) | |||||||
| > 400 | 4 | 3,152 | 1.67 (1.13–2.47) | 0.01 | Random | 64.8 | 0.036 |
| < 400 | 2 | 527 | 1.34 (0.34–5.23) | 0.674 | Random | 82.7 | 0.016 |
| Overall for DFS | 5 | 1,869 | 1.73 (1.3–2.3) | < 0.001 | Fixed | 40.5 | 0.151 |
| Region | |||||||
| Asian | 4 | 1,076 | 1.72 (1.06–2.8) | 0.027 | Random | 53.6 | 0.091 |
| Non-Asian | 1 | 793 | 2.03 (1.03–4.01) | 0.042 | – | – | – |
| Treatment | |||||||
| Chemotherapy | 2 | 239 | 2.6 (1.47–4.61) | 0.001 | Fixed | 0 | 0.708 |
| Radiotherapy | 1 | 350 | 0.9 (0.49–1.66) | 0.736 | – | – | – |
| Surgery | 1 | 487 | 1.8 (1.12–2.89) | 0.016 | – | – | – |
| Systemic treatment | 1 | 793 | 2.03 (1.03–4.01) | 0.042 | – | – | – |
| Sample size (n) | |||||||
| > 400 | 2 | 1,280 | 1.87 (1.27–2.76) | 0.002 | Fixed | 0 | 0.773 |
| < 400 | 3 | 589 | 1.73 (0.81–3.72) | 0.158 | Random | 68.4 | 0.042 |
OS = overall survival; DFS = disease-free survival.