Table 1.
Main characteristics of studies included in the meta-analysis
| First author, publication year | Case nationality | Dominant ethnicity | Median or mean age | Study design | Malignant disease | Main type of pathology | Detected sample | Assay method | Survival analysis | Source of HR | Maximum months of follow-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zhu, 201710 | China | Asian | 59.4 | R | Colorectal carcinoma | AdenoCa | Tissue | IHC | OS | Reported | 96 |
| Lu, 201612 | China | Asian | 57.7 | R | Gastric carcinoma | AdenoCa | Tissue | IHC | OS | Reported | 95 |
| Singh, 201611 | India | Asian | 49 | R | Breast cancer | AdenoCa | Tissue | qRT-PCR | OS | SC | 36 |
| Guo, 201516,a | China | Asian | 48 | R | Gastric carcinoma | AdenoCa | Tissue | IHC | OS | SC | 60 |
| Guo, 201516,b | China | Asian | 48 | R | Gastric carcinoma | AdenoCa | Tissue | qRT-PCR | OS | SC | 60 |
| Wu, 201532 | China | Asian | 62.1 | R | Colorectal carcinoma | AdenoCa | Tissue | IHC | OS | Reported | 108 |
| Han, 201536 | China | Asian | 45.6 | R | Breast cancer | AdenoCa | Tissue | IHC | OS | Reported | NM |
| Yu, 201413 | China | Asian | 62.1 | R | LSCC | SqCa | Tissue | IHC | OS/DFS | Reported | NM |
| Kwon, 201419 | Korea | Asian | 55.8 | R | CCRCC | AdenoCa | Tissue | IHC | OS | Reported | 223 |
| Tang, 201414,c | Canada | Caucasian | 60 | R | Melanoma | Melanoma | Tissue | IHC | OS | Reported | 120 |
| Tang, 201414,d | Canada | Caucasian | 60 | R | Melanoma | Melanoma | Tissue | IHC | OS | Reported | 60 |
| Zhang, 201337 | China | Asian | 58.7 | R | LSCC | SqCa | Tissue | IHC | OS | SC | NM |
| Zhang, 201338 | China | Asian | 59.6 | R | LSCC | SqCa | Tissue | WB | OS | SC | 84 |
| Wu, 201215 | China | Asian | 58.6 | R | NSCLC | AdenoCa | Tissue | IHC | OS | Reported | 88 |
| Knoener, 201233 | Germany | Caucasian | NM | R | Gastric carcinoma | AdenoCa | Tissue | IHC | OS | SC | 163 |
| Guo, 200939 | China | Asian | 60 | R | Hepatocellular carcinoma | AdenoCa | Tissue | IHC | OS | SC | 24 |
| Protzel, 200834 | Germany | Caucasian | 66.5 | R | Penile carcinoma | SqCa | Tissue | IHC | OS | SC | 125 |
| Miyazaki, 200540 | Japan | Asian | 61 | R | ESCC | SqCa | Tissue | IHC | OS | SC | 60 |
| Leavey, 200517 | America | Caucasian | 11 | R | Osteosarcoma | Sarcoma | Tissue | IHC | OS/PFS | SC | NM |
| Farhadieh, 200441 | Australia | Caucasian | 65 | R | OSCC | SqCa | Tissue | IHC | OS/DFS | Reported | 258 |
| Goncharuk, 200442 | America | Caucasian | 65 | R | NSCLC | AdenoCa | Tissue | IHC | OS | SC | NM |
| Su, 200450 | Japan | Asian | 64 | R | Bladder cancer | TCC | Tissue | IHC | RFS | Reported | 78 |
| Hashida, 200318 | Japan | Asian | 62.8 | R | Colorectal carcinoma | AdenoCa | Tissue | IHC | OS/DFS | Reported | 85.9 |
| Imai, 200243 | Japan | Asian | 62.6 | R | OSCC | SqCa | Tissue | qRT-PCR | OS | SC | 60 |
| Schindl, 200144 | Austria | Caucasian | 56.8 | R | Epithelial ovarian cancer | AdenoCa | Tissue | IHC | OS/DFS | Reported | 130 |
| Miyazaki, 200045 | Japan | Asian | 61.8 | R | ESCC | SqCa | Tissue | IHC | OS | SC | 195.2 |
| Yang, 200046 | America | Caucasian | NM | R | Breast cancer | AdenoCa | Tissue | IHC | OS | SC | NM |
| Sho, 199847 | Japan | Asian | 66 | R | Pancreatic cancer | AdenoCa | Tissue | IHC | OS | SC | 62 |
| Huang, 199848 | Japan | Asian | 50 | R | Breast cancer | AdenoCa | Tissue | IHC | OS/DFS | Reported | NM |
| Higashiyama, 199735 | Japan | Asian | 63.7 | R | NSCLC | AdenoCa | Tissue | IHC | OS | Reported | 61.3 |
| Adachi, 199649 | Japan | Asian | 60 | R | NSCLC | AdenoCa | Tissue | qRT-PCR | OS | Reported | 58 |
Notes:
Data extracted from one study due to different assay methods (IHC and qRT-PCR).
Data extracted from one study due to different follow-up times (120 and 60 months). Study design is described as retrospective.
Abbreviations: AdenoCa, adenocarcinoma; CCRCC, clear cell renal cell carcinoma; DFS, disease-free survival; ESCC, esophageal squamous cell carcinoma; HR, hazard ratio; IHC, immunohistochemistry; LSCC, laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma; NM, not mentioned; NSCLC, non-small-cell lung cancer; OS, overall survival; OSCC, oral squamous cell carcinoma; PFS, progression-free survival; qRT-PCR, quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction; R, retrospective; RFS, recurrence-free survival; SC, survival curve; SqCa, squamous carcinoma; TCC, transitional cell carcinoma; WB, Western-blot.