Table 1.
Characteristics of studies included in this meta-analysis
| Author | Year | Country | Study sample size (M/F) | Mean/median age (years) | Cancer stage | Cancer sites | Cut-off value for CAR (> CV/, CV) | Major treatment | Study end points | HR with its 95% CI | Source | Follow-up time (months) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Park et al13 | 2016 | Korea | 40 (27/13) | Mean 66 (31–83) | I–IV (AJCC) | Oral | 0.085 (13/27) | Resection | OS | OS (M), 6.08 (1.97–18.74) | Direct | Mean 35.58 |
| Li et al14 | 2016 | China | 409 (288/121) | Median 45 (18–77) | I–IV (AJCC) | Nasopharynx | 0.037 (228/181) | Multiple | OS, 5-year survival rate | OS (M), 2.09 (1.22–3.59) | Direct | >60 |
| Zhang et al15 | 2016 | China | 1,572 (1,172/400) | Median 45 (14–78) | I–IV (AJCC) | Nasopharynx | 0.05 (614/958) | Multiple | OS, DFS | OS (M), 1.39 (1.00–1.94) DFS (M), 1.24 (0.97–1.57) |
Direct Direct |
Median 50.0 (1.4–76.4) |
| Tao et al16 | 2016 | China | 719 (495/224) | Median 48 (14–81) | I–IV (AJCC) | Nasopharynx | 0.141 (341/378) | Radiotherapy | OS, 5-year survival rate | OS (M), 2.17 (1.13–3.06) | Direct | >60 |
| He et al17 | 2016 | China | 2,685 (2,535/150) | NA | I–III (NA) | Nasopharynx | 0.064 (1,022/1,663) | Multiple | OS, DFS, 5-year survival rate | OS (M), 1.36 (1.11–1.65) | Direct | Median 46.30 (0.07–188.43) |
| Yu et al18 | 2017 | China | 129 | Median 61 (29–82) | I–IV (AJCC) | Laryngeal | 0.047 (56/73) | Multiple | OS, DFS | OS (M), 2.13 (1.15–3.93) DFS (M), 2.36 (1.28–4.36) |
Direct Direct |
Median 77 (66–94) |
| Zhang et al19 | 2017 | China | 617 (461/156) | Median 60 (30–82) | I–III (clinical stage) | Lung | 0.424 (125/492) | Resection | OS, DFS | OS (M), 1.87 (1.41–2.49) DFS (M), 1.54 (1.10–2.16) |
Direct Direct |
Median 50 (1–108) |
| Miyazaki et al20 | 2016 | Japan | 108 (69/39) | Median 82 | I–IV (clinical stage) | Lung | 0.028 (49/59) | Resection | OS, 5-year survival rate | OS (M), 2.13 (1.07–4.30) | Direct | >60 |
| Zhou et al21 | 2015 | China | 367 (316/51) | Median 59 (23–82) | Limited/extensive | Lung | 0.441 (128/239) | Multiple | OS | OS (M), 1.34 (1.04–1.73) | Direct | Median 29.40 (0.03–116.07) |
| Wei et al22 | 2015 | China | 423 (341/82) | Median 58 (24–88) | I–IV (AJCC) | Esophageal | 0.095 (147/276) | Resection | OS | OS (M), 1.39 (1.03–1.88) | Direct | Median 35.7 (0.6–95.6) |
| Xu et al23 | 2015 | China | 468 (416/52) | Median 58 | I–IIIC (AJCC) | Esophageal | 0.50 (87/381) | Resection | OS, 5-year survival rate | OS (M), 2.44 (1.82–3.26) | Direct | >36 |
| Liu et al24 | 2015 | China | 455 (314/141) | Median 59 (19–86) | I–III (AJCC) | Gastric | 0.25 (302/153) | Resection | OS, 5-year survival rate | OS (M), 1.63 (1.19–2.20) | Direct | Median 25 (1–76) |
| Toiyama et al25 | 2016 | Japan | 384 (264/120) | Median 67 (32–88) | I–III (JC) | Gastric | 0.051 (NA) | Resection | OS, DFS | OS (M), 2.21 (1.19–4.11) DFS (M), 1.82 (1.03–3.23) |
Direct Direct |
Median 47.6 (40.1–54.1) |
| Shibutani et al26 | 2016 | Japan | 99 (57/42) | 63 (27–86) | Unresectable | Colorectal | 0.183 (36/63) | Chemotherapy | OS | OS (M), 1.87 (1.06–3.30) | Direct | Up to 60 |
| Shibutani et al27 | 2016 | Japan | 705 (411/294) | Median 68 (26–90) | I–III (JC) | Colorectal | 0.028 (358/347) | Resection | OS, DFS, 5-year survival rate | OS (U), 1.76 (1.17–2.64) DFS (U), 1.50 (1.05–2.14) |
Curve Direct |
>60 |
| Ishizuka et al28 | 2015 | Japan | 627 (400/227) | NA | 0–IV (JC) | Colorectal | 0.038 (366/261) | Resection | OS | OS (M), 2.61 (1.62–4.21) | Direct | Median 30 |
| Tominaga et al29 | 2016 | Japan | 136 (79/57) | NA | T1–4 N1–3 | Colorectal | 0.1 (30/106) | Resection | OS, DFS | OS (U), 0.96 (0.87–1.06) DFS (M), 4.43 (1.94–10.15) |
Data Direct |
Up to 110 |
| Li and Zhang30 | 2016 | China | 178 (127/51) | Mean 67.9 | NA | Hepatic | 0.46 (97/86) | Resection | OS | OS (M), 2.52 (1.82–3.47) | Direct | Mean 35.6 (19–55) |
| Kinoshita et al31 | 2015 | Japan | 186 (133/53) | Median 72 | 0–D (BCLC) | Hepatic | 0.037 (102/84) | Resection | OS | OS (M), 3.39 (1.99–5.80) | Direct | Median 18 (1–88) |
| Liu et al32 | 2017 | China | 386 (238/148) | Median 61 (34–83) | I–IV (AJCC) | Pancreatic | 0.180 (91/295) | Resection | OS | OS (M), 2.07 (1.59–2.70) | Direct | Median 8.7 |
| Wu et al33 | 2016 | China | 233 (156/77) | Median 62 (26–85) | Advanced | Pancreatic | 0.54 (74/159) | Multiple | OS | OS (M), 4.00 (2.64–6.03) | Direct | Up to 12 |
| Haruki et al34 | 2016 | Japan | 113 (70/43) | Median 66.8 (27–85) | I–IV (clinical) | Pancreatic | 0.03 (58/53) | Resection | OS, DFS | OS (M), 1.73 (1.04–2.87) DFS (U), 1.54 (1.00–2.37) |
Direct Direct |
>60 |
| Lee et al35 | 2016 | Korea | 82 (49/33) | Mean 63.5±10.7 | Advanced/metastatic | Pancreatic | 0.5 (40/42) | Chemotherapy | OS | OS (M), 1.60 (0.84–3.04) | Direct | Up to 24 |
| Chen et al36 | 2015 | China | 406 (253/153) | Median 58 (24–80) | I–IV (clinical stage) | Kidney | 0.15 (93/313) | Resection | OS | OS (U), 3.44 (2.43–4.86) | Curve | Mean 63 (1–151) |
| Guo et al37 | 2017 | China | 570 (382/188) | Mean 51.43±13.52 | I–IV (TNM stage) | Kidney | 0.085 (393/177) | Resection | OS, DFS | OS (M), 1.94 (1.12–3.36) DFS (M), 2.14 (1.22–3.75) |
Direct | Median 63.54 |
Notes: Multiple: multidisciplinary treatments; Data: available data to calculate HR with corresponding CI; Curve: Kaplan–Meier curve.
Abbreviations: M/F, male/female; CAR, C-reactive protein/albumin ratio; CV, cut-off value; HR, hazard ratio; CI, confidence interval; AJCC, American Joint Committee on Cancer; OS, overall survival; M, multivariate analysis; DFS, disease-free survival; NA, not available; JC, Japanese Classification; U, univariate analysis; BCLC, Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer.