Figure 4.

Correlations between vimentin expression and clinicopathological characteristics. Studies were combined using the random-effects model. (a) The pooled OR for lymph node metastasis was 2.288 (95% CI: 1.159-4.517; p for heterogeneity =0.126, I²=47.52%). (b) The pooled OR for TNM stages was 1.957 (95% CI: 1.333-2.873; p for heterogeneity =0.578, I²=0%). (c) The pooled OR for N stage was 2.316 (95% CI: 1.482-3.620; p for heterogeneity =0.284, I²=20.477%). The square boxes indicate study-specific estimates. The size of each box reflects the study's weight in the analysis, and the horizontal lines represent 95% CIs. The diamond represents the pooled ORs and 95% CI. The p value < 0.1 indicated the existence of heterogeneity among studies.