Table 1.
Main characteristics of studies included in the meta-analysis.
| First author | Study source | Age | Testing method | Cancer type | Study design | Specimen type | Cases | Survival rate | Outcomes | Therapy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mehra 2006 | The Netherlands | NA | NASBA | Cancer with bone metastases | Retrospective, multicentre | Blood | 50 | < 3 years | OS | Part (adjuvant therapy) |
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| Li 2009 | China | NA | IHC | Advanced colon carcinoma | Retrospective, single-center | Tissue | 104 | 5 years | OS | Adjuvant chemotherapy |
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| Fusi 2011 | Germany | 54 | Flow cytometry analysis | Metastatic melanoma | Retrospective, single-center | Blood | 32 | NA | OS | Neoadjuvant chemotherapy |
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| Pilati 2012 | Italy | 63 | qRT-PCR | Colorectal liver metastasis | Retrospective, single-center | Blood | 50 | 3 years | CSS | Surgery and chemotherapy |
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| Sakai 2012 | Japan | NA | IHC | Colorectal cancer with liver metastasis | Retrospective, single-center | Tissue | 92 | 3 years | OS, DFS | Surgery |
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| Qin 2012 | China | NA | IHC | Advanced serous ovarian cancer | Retrospective, multicentre | Tissue | 123 | NA | OS | Adjuvant chemotherapy |
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| Lee 2012 | Korea | 61.5 | IHC | Advanced gastric cancer | Retrospective, single-center | Tissue | 100 | 5 years | OS, DFS | Surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy |
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| Sprenger 2013 | Germany | 63 | IHC, blind | Advanced rectal adenocarcinoma | Prospective, multicentre | Tissue | 126 | NA | CSS, DFS | Surgery and radiochemotherapy |
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| Yamamoto 2014 | Japan | NA | IHC, blind | Colorectal cancer liver metastasis | Retrospective, single-center | Tissue | 103 | 5 years | OS | Surgery and chemotherapy |
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| Liu 2014 | China | 57 | IHC, blind | Epithelial ovarian cancer with central nervous system metastasis | Retrospective, single-center | Tissue | 29 | < 3 years | OS | Surgery and adjuvant therapy |
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| Kazama 2015 | Japan | 67.1 | IHC | Colorectal cancer with lymph node metastasis | Retrospective, single-center | Tissue | 138 | > 5 years | OS | Surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy |
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| Kishikawa 2016 | Japan | 59.4 | IHC | Colorectal cancer with synchronous liver metastases | Retrospective, single-center | Tissue | 88 | NA | OS, DFS | Surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy |
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| Pei 2016 | China | NA | IHC, blind | Advanced colorectal cancer | Retrospective, single-center | Tissue | 323 | NA | OS, DFS | Surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy |
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| Huang 2014 | China | NA | IHC, blind | Breast cancer with axillary lymph nodes | Retrospective, multicentre | Tissue | 107 | NA | DFS | NA |
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| Shen 2014 | China | 51 | IHC, blind | Advanced cervical squamous cell carcinoma | Retrospective, multicentre | Tissue | 132 | 5 years | PFS | Radiotherapy |
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| Udagawa 2015 | Japan | 66 | IHC | Lung squamous cell carcinoma with lymph node metastasis | Retrospective, single-center | Tissue | 113 | NA | RFS | Surgery |
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| Sodja 2016 | Slovenia | 65 | qRT-PCR | Advanced small-cell lung cancer | Prospective, single-center | Blood | 50 | NA | DFS, PFS | Chemotherapy |
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| Yamawaki 2017 | Japan | NA | IHC | Advanced endometrial cancer | Retrospective, single-center | Tissue | 31 | NA | PFS | NA |
NA: not applicable; NASBA: nuclear acid sequence-based amplification; IHC: immunohistochemistry; qRT-PCR: Real-Time Quantitative PCR; OS: overall survival; DFS: disease-free survival; PFS: progression-free survival; CSS: cancer-specific survival; RFS: recurrence-free survival (RFS).