Table 1. The characteristics of included studies for the present meta-analysis.
| Study | Country | N | Median age (year) | Cut-off value | FIGO stage | Study design | Detection method | Follow-up time (month) | Outcome | n | Quality score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brustmann H. 2004 | Austria | 41 | NR | 10% | I-III | NR | IHC | 22 | DFS | 21 | 19 |
| Gadducci A et al. 2003 | Italy | 45 | NR | ≥ 4+ | NR | Retrospective | IHC | NR | OS, PFS | 14 | 15 |
| Garzetti GG et al. 1999 | Italy | 32 | 58.5 (34-69) | NR | I-III | Retrospective | IHC | 37 (12-96) | DFS | 15 | 17 |
| Goodheart MJ et al. 2005 | USA | 77 | 50 (21-85) | ≥ 4+ | I | Retrospective | IHC | 73 (24-176) | PFS | 5 | 18 |
| Hartenbach EM et al. 1997 | USA | 18 | 66.5 (29-83) | 25 cycles | III/IV | NR | RT-PCR | 49.5 (15-78) | OS | 12 | 16 |
| Hata K et al. 2004 | Japan | 85 | 54 (19-81) | 0.14 | I-IV | Retrospective | PCR | NR | PFS | 43 | 19 |
| Ino K et al. 2006 | Japan | 67 | NR | 50% | I-IV | Retrospective | IHC | 60 (1-121) | OS, PFS | 49 | 19 |
| Li L et al. 2009 | China | 78 | (34-72) | 10% | I-IV | NR | IHC | NR | OS, DFS | 46 | 15 |
| Nakayama K et al. 2002 | Japan | 60 | 53 (22-81) | Positive | I-IV | Retrospective | PCR | 40.6 (6-128) | OS, PFS | 30 | 15 |
| Nishida N et al. 2004 | Japan | 80 | 54.4 (23-79) | 10% | I-IV | Retrospective | IHC | 33.2 (2.75-89.75) | DFS | 58 | 17 |
| Raspollini MR et al. 2004 | Italy | 83 | 60 (33-79) | 30% | III | Retrospective | IHC | 44.8 (3-204) | OS, DFS | 50 | 19 |
| Secord AA et al. 2007 | USA | 67 | NR | >1.2 fold to actin | NR | Retrospective | Immunoblot | NR | OS, PFS | 33 | 17 |
| Shen GH et al. 2000 | Japan | 64 | 54 (21-88) | 25% | I-IV | Retrospective | IHC | 31 (3-120) | OS | 31 | 19 |
| Shimogai R et al. 2008 | Japan | 66 | 55.4 (21-78) | 4% | I-IV | Prospective | RT-PCR | 154 (92.9-398.5) | OS, PFS | 26 | 19 |
| Sinn BV et al. 2009 | Germany | 97 | 58 (34-80) | mRNA: 30.52 | I-IV | NR | RT-PCR | 38 (2-83) | OS, PFS | NR | 15 |
| Sundar SS et al. 2006 | UK | 88 | 63 (25-88) | NR | I-IV | Retrospective | IHC | 28.5 (0.49-165.3) | OS, PFS | NR | 19 |
| Ueda M et al. 2005 | Japan | 73 | NR | 50% | I-IV | NR | IHC | NR | OS | 36 | 15 |
| Kassim SK et al. 2004 | Egypt | 24 | 43.5 (21-65) | 120pg/mg | I-IV | Retrospective | RT-PCR | 36 | OS | NR | 17 |
Abbreviations: N, total number of eligible patients; n, number of patients with high/positive tissue VEGF; OS, overall survival; DFS, disease-free survival; PFS, progression-free survival; NR, not report; RT-PCR, reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction; IHC, immunohistochemistry.