Table 1.
Characteristics of studies included in the meta-analysis.
| Study and year | Year | Cancer | Sample size | Country | Specimen type | Cutoff value | Method | NOS quality score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wu 1995 | 1995 | Esophageal cancer | 40 | China | Tissue | NA | Immunohistochemistry | 7 |
| Ohashi 1997 | 1997 | SCC | 25 | Japan | Tissue | NA | Immunohistochemistry | 6 |
| Toh 1997 | 1997 | SCC | 61 | Japan | Tissue | 10% | Immunohistochemistry | 7 |
| Jiang 1998 | 1998 | SCC | 46 | China | Tissue | 10% | Immunohistochemistry | 7 |
| Sarbia 1998 | 1998 | SCC (surgical treatment) | 149 | Germany | Tissue | 50% | Immunohistochemistry | 9 |
| Kuwahara 1999 | 1999 | SCC | 32 | Japan | Tissue | 10% | Immunohistochemistry | 8 |
| Lam 1999 | 1999 | SCC | 153 | Hong Kong | Tissue | 50% | Immunohistochemistry | 7 |
| Natsugoe 1999 | 1999 | SCC | 111 | Japan | Tissue | 10% | Immunohistochemistry | 8 |
| Nita 1999 | 1999 | SCC | 62 | Japan | Tissue | 14 | Immunohistochemistry | 9 |
| Shimada 1999 | 1999 | SCC | 116 | Japan | Tissue | 50% | Immunohistochemistry | 8 |
| Zhang 1999 | 1999 | Esophageal cancer | 38 | China | Tissue | 5% | Immunohistochemistry | 9 |
| Fan 2000 | 2000 | Esophageal cancer | 56 | China | Tissue | NA | Immunohistochemistry | 7 |
| Liu 2000 | 2000 | SCC | 80 | China | Tissue | 1% | Immunohistochemistry | 8 |
| Nakashida 2000 | 2000 | SCC | 30 | Japan | Tissue | 10% | Immunohistochemistry | 7 |
| Matsumoto 2001 | 2001 | SCC | 79 | Japan | Tissue | 10% | Immunohistochemistry | 7 |
| Zhan 2001 | 2001 | Esophageal cancer | 30 | China | Tissue | 10% | Immunohistochemistry | 6 |
| Li 2002 | 2002 | AD | 35 | China | Tissue | NA | Immunohistochemistry | 6 |
| Cui 2003 | 2003 | SCC | 72 | China | Tissue | 5% | Immunohistochemistry | 8 |
| Guner 2003 | 2003 | SCC | 63 | Germany | Tissue | 10% | Immunohistochemistry | 7 |
| Zhang 2003 | 2003 | SCC | 43 | China | Tissue | 0% | Immunohistochemistry | 7 |
| Li 2004 | 2004 | SCC | 80 | China | Tissue | 25% | Immunohistochemistry | 8 |
| Li Li 2004 | 2004 | SCC | 48 | China | Tissue | NA | Immunohistochemistry, ISH | 6 |
| Nakamura 2004 | 2004 | SCC | 76 | Japan | Tissue | 10% | Immunohistochemistry | 9 |
| Chang 2005 | 2005 | Esophageal cancer | 118 | Korea | Tissue | 10% | Immunohistochemistry | 7 |
| Goan 2005 | 2005 | SCC | 36 | China | Tissue | 50% | Immunohistochemistry | 8 |
| Gu 2005 | 2005 | SCC (single surgery) | 50 | China | Tissue | 10% | Immunohistochemistry | 7 |
| Gu 2005 | 2005 | SCC (surgery+chemotherapy) | 50 | China | Tissue | 10% | Immunohistochemistry | 7 |
| Li 2005 | 2005 | SCC | 43 | China | Tissue | 10% | Immunohistochemistry | 9 |
| Fan 2006 | 2006 | SCC | 40 | China | Tissue | 10% | Immunohistochemistry | 7 |
| Liu 2006 | 2006 | SCC | 60 | China | Tissue | 25% | Immunohistochemistry | 6 |
| Han 2007 | 2007 | SCC | 40 | Turkey | Tissue | 10% | Immunohistochemistry | 7 |
| Ishida 2007 | 2007 | SCC | 32 | Japan | Tissue | 20% | Immunohistochemistry | 8 |
| Wang 2008 | 2008 | SCC | 48 | China | Tissue | 25% | Immunohistochemistry | 8 |
| Zhang 2008 | 2008 | SCC | 45 | China | Tissue | NA | RT-PCR | 7 |
| Lin 2010 | 2010 | SCC | 148 | China | Tissue | 10% | Immunohistochemistry | 8 |
| Taghavi 2010 | 2010 | SCC | 80 | Iran | Tissue | 50% | Immunohistochemistry | 8 |
| Zhang 2010 | 2010 | SCC | 90 | China | Tissue | NA | Immunohistochemistry | 7 |
| Arsenijevic 2012 | 2012 | SCC | 41 | Serbia | Tissue | NA | Immunohistochemistry | 6 |
| Liu 2012 | 2012 | SCC | 189 | China | Tissue | NA | Immunohistochemistry | 6 |
| Li 2013 | 2013 | SCC | 48 | China | Tissue | NA | RT-PCR | 7 |
| Shiozaki 2013 | 2013 | SCC | 69 | Japan | Tissue | 30% | Immunohistochemistry | 8 |
| Zhang 2013 | 2013 | SCC | 51 | China | Tissue | NA | Western blot | 7 |
| Zhang 2014 | 2014 | SCC | 62 | China | Tissue | 50% | Immunohistochemistry | 7 |
| Cheng 2015 | 2015 | SCC | 80 | China | Tissue | 25% | Immunohistochemistry | 8 |
| Lin 2016 | 2016 | SCC | 153 | China | Tissue | 10% | Immunohistochemistry | 9 |