Table 1. The characteristics of included studies included.
| Reference | Publication (Y) | Study year | Country | No. of patients (VR+: VR−) | Sex ratio (M:F) | Median age (years) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fuhrmann et al. | 1996 | 1990–1993 | USA | 59 (23:36) | 33:26 | 64 |
| Harrison et al. | 1996 | 1983–1995 | USA | 332 (58:274) | 171:161 | 65.5 |
| Leach et al. | 1998 | 1990–1995 | USA | 75 (31:44) | 42:33 | 64.8 |
| Launois et al. | 1999 | 1973–1992 | France | 88 (14:74) | 61:27 | 60 |
| Bachellier et al. | 2001 | 1990–1999 | France | 87 (21:66) | 50:37 | 62.9 |
| Shibata et al. | 2001 | – | Japan | 74 (28:46) | 53:21 | 61 |
| Kawada et al. | 2002 | 1990–1997 | Japan | 43 (28:15) | 28:15 | 62.3 |
| Hartel et al. | 2002 | 1980–2001 | Germany | 271 (68:203) | 171:100 | 61.8 |
| Nakagohri et al. | 2003 | 1992–2001 | Japan | 81 (33:48) | 47:34 | 62.4 |
| Riediger et al. | 2003 | 1994–2001 | Germany | 222 (53:169) | 122:100 | 64 |
| Howard et al. | 2003 | 1998–2003 | USA | 36 (13:23) | 21:15 | 67.4 |
| Poon et al. | 2004 | 1998–2002 | China | 50 (12:38) | 29:21 | 62.3 |
| Tseng et al. | 2004 | 1990–2002 | USA | 291 (110:181) | 175:116 | 63.9 |
| Shimada et al. | 2006 | 1996–2004 | Japan | 149 (86:63) | 88:61 | 62 |
| Carrère et al. | 2006 | 1989–2003 | France | 133 (45:88) | 91:42 | 60.6 |
| Al-Haddad et al. | 2007 | 1998–2005 | USA | 76 (22:54) | 42:34 | 70.7 |
| Fukuda et al. | 2007 | 1990–2002 | France | 121 (37:84) | 58:63 | 66 |
| Kurosaki et al. | 2007 | 1987–2005 | Japan | 77 (35:42) | 43:34 | 65.1 |
| Illuminati et al. | 2008 | 2000–2005 | Italy | 137 (29:108) | – | – |
| Martin II et al. | 2009 | 1999–2007 | USA | 593 (36:557) | – | – |
| Kaneoka et al. | 2009 | 1993–2006 | Japan | 84 (42:42) | – | 65.5 |
| Hristov et al. | 2010 | 1993–2005 | USA | 160 (20:140) | 96:64 | 55.2 |
| Chakravarty et al. | 2010 | 1996–2006 | Japan | 87 (12:75) | 57:30 | 62.9 |
| Benz et al. | 2011 | 1997–2009 | Switzerland | 326 (51:275) | 171:155 | 65.3 |
| Murakami et al. | 2012 | 1996–2010 | Japan | 125 (61:64) | 65:60 | 69 |
| Turley et al. | 2012 | 1997-2008 | USA | 204 (42:162) | – | 65.5 |
| Jeong et al. | 2013 | 1995–2009 | South Korea | 276 (46:230) | 159:117 | 61.3 |
| Kelly et al. | 2013 | 2000–2007 | USA | 492 (70:422) | 244:248 | 65.3 |
| Menon et al. | 2013 | 2007–2012 | USA | 61 (18:43) | 27:34 | 68.5 |
| Ravikumar et al. | 2013 | 1998–2011 | UK | 1,070 (230:840) | 583:487 | 65.8 |
| Turrini et al. | 2013 | 2000–2010 | France | 38 (19:19) | – | 63.5 |
| Wang et al. | 2014 | 2004–2012 | Australia | 122 (64:58) | 64:58 | 66.5 |
| Iorgulescu et al. | 2014 | 2004–2012 | Australia | 34 (17:17) | 19:15 | 63.5 |
| Kulemann et al. | 2014 | 1994–2014 | Germany | 339 (131:208) | 166:173 | 66 |
| Michalski et al. | 2015 | 2007–2015 | Germany | 156 (54:102) | – | – |
| Wang et al. | 2015 | 2009-2013 | China | 208 (42:166) | 141:67 | 60.3 |
| Marsoner et al. | 2016 | 2003–2016 | Austria | 221 (47:174) | 109:112 | 66.8 |
| Zhao et al. | 2016 | 2014–2016 | China | 106 (21:85) | 57:49 | 63.4 |
| Addeo et al. | 2017 | 2006–2014 | France | 181 (91:90) | 106:75 | 68 |
| Hoshimoto et al. | 2017 | 2007–2015 | Japan | 122 (21:101) | 62:60 | 67.3 |
| Klein et al. | 2018 | 1989–2015 | Germany | 160 (40:120) | 84:76 | 64.3 |
VR, venous resection.