Pathologic lymph node ratio is a predictor of esophageal carcinoma patient survival: a literature-based pooled analysis

Abstract

// Yuming Zhao 1 , Shengyi Zhong 1 , Zhenhua Li 1 , Xiaofeng Zhu 1 , Feima Wu 1 and Yanxing Li 1 1 Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Xianning Central Hospital, The First Affiliated Hospital of Hubei University of Science and Technology, Xianning 437100, China Correspondence to: Yanxing Li, email: Liyx67@sina.cn Keywords: lymph node ratio, esophageal carcinoma, survival Received: January 16, 2017     Accepted: April 11, 2017     Published: July 15, 2017 ABSTRACT The positive lymph node ratio (LNR) has been suggested as a predictor of survival in patients with esophageal carcinoma (EC). However, existed evidences did not completely agree with each other. We sought to examine whether LNR was associated with overall survival (OS). Electronic database was searched for eligible literatures. The primary outcome was the relationship between LNR and OS, which was presented as hazard ratio (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). All statistical analyses were performed using STATA 11.0 software. A total of 18 relevant studies which involved 7,664 cases were included. Patients with an LNR of 0.3 or greater had an increased risk of death compared to those with an LNR of less than 0.3(HR = 2.33; 95% CI 2.03-2.68; P<0.01). Similarly, patients with an LNR greater than 0.5 was also associated with a decreased OS(HR = 1.95; 95% CI 1.52-2.50; P<0.01). No publication bias was found. This meta-analysis confirmed that LNR was a significant predictor of survival in patients with EC and should be considered in prognostication.