Prognostic value of vascular endothelial growth factor in patients with head and neck cancer: A meta-analysis

BackgroundThe correlation between vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) overexpression and the clinical outcome of head and neck cancer remains inconclusive. This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of VEGF in patients with head and neck cancer. MethodsWe searched Ovid MEDLINE, EMBASE and 2 Chinese science databases in order to enroll all eligible articles. Forty-seven studies were included in this meta-analysis. All results were evaluated by the random-effects model. ResultsVEGF overexpression is significantly associated with worse overall survival (OS; hazard ratio [HR], 1.89; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.61-2.22) and progression-free survival (PFS; HR, 1.68; 95% CI, 1.33-2.12). Subgroup analysis reveals that VEGF overexpression is a significant poor predictor for nasopharyngeal cancer (HR, 1.66; 95% CI, 1.30-2.12) and salivary gland cancer (HR, 3.32; 95% CI, 1.61-6.84). ConclusionOur meta-analysis supports that VEGF overexpression is an available poor predictor for patients with head and neck cancer. (c) 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 35: 1507-1514, 2013