Abstract
The prognostic role of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in cervical cancer is controversial to date. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of VEGF and VEGF-C in patients with cervical cancer. Relevant studies were identified by systematic search of the PubMed and Embase database. The primary data of eligible studies was hazard ratio (HR) with 95% confidence interval (95% CI) of survival outcomes, including overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS) and progression-free survival (PFS). Pooled HR (95% CI) was calculated to evaluate the prognostic role of VEGF and VEGF-C in cervical cancer patients. The methodological qualities of the included studies were assessed using REMARK. Fourteen eligible articles including 1306 patients were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled HRs (95% CIs) of VEGF for OS and DFS/PFS were 2.29 [1.27, 4.14] and 2.77 [1.37, 5.62], respectively. The HR (95% CI) of VEGF-C for OS was 3.94 [2.22, 6.99]. This meta-analysis suggested that high expressions of VEGF and VEGF-C were significantly associated with poor survival outcome in cervical cancer patients.
Highlights
Cervical cancer is the third most common cancer and the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths in females worldwide
The results suggested that high expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) could be considered as a useful predictive biomarker in cervical cancer
VEGF-C has been proven to induce selective hyperplasia of the lymphatic vasculature, which is involved in immune function, inflammation, and tumor metastasis
Summary
Cervical cancer is the third most common cancer and the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths in females worldwide. 529,800 new cancer cases were diagnosed and 275,100 cases died from the disease in 2008 [1]. Cervical cancer incidence rates have declined significantly in developed countries recently, it remains to be one of the most common cancers in women in developing countries [1]. In order to improve survival outcome of cervical cancer, several prognostic biomarkers have been identified. Human-papilloma virus (HPV) related biomarkers have been proven as effective biomarkers in the diagnosis and prevention of cervical cancer [2, 3]. The researchers are still screening new markers which are highly associated with cervical cancer progression and prognosis
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