Increased vascular endothelial growth factor expression predicts a worse prognosis for laryngeal cancer patients: a meta-analysis

Objective: This study assessed the relationship between vascular endothelial growth factor expression and the laryngeal cancer prognosis. Methods: Systematic computerised searches of PubMed were performed up to 31 January 2015. Prognostic endpoints were overall survival and disease-free survival. The pooled hazard ratios for overall survival and disease-free survival were also calculated. Results: Seven studies containing 975 patients were included. The pooled hazard ratio was 1.703 ( 95 per cent confidence interval, 1.373 to 2.112; z score = 4.85, p = 0.000) for overall survival and was 1.918 ( 95 per cent confidence interval, 1.410 to 2.609; z score = 4.15, p = 0.000) for disease- free survival. No significant publication bias was found. A sensitivity analysis showed that the results were robust. Power analyses also showed there was enough power to detect the calculated hazard ratios. Conclusion: The study found that vascular endothelial growth factor overexpression predicted a worse prognosis for laryngeal cancer patients. This supports a strategy of targeted therapy by blocking the vascular endothelial growth factor receptor.