Prognostic significance of lymphovascular invasion in bladder cancer after surgical resection: A meta-analysis

Bladder cancer remains a commonly diagnosed malignancy worldwide, bringing huge economic burden and high morbidity for patients. Assessment of prognostic significance of lymphovascular invasion (LVI) is a critical issue in the surgical management of bladder cancer after transurethral resection or radical cystectomy.

A systematic search of PubMed, Embase and Cochrane Library was performed up to Oct 10, 2014 to identify eligible studies. Outcomes of interest were collected from studies comparing overall survival (OS), cancer specific survival (CSS) and recurrence free survival (RFS) in patients with the LVI. Results of studies were pooled, and combined hazard ratios (HRs) with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for survival were used as the effect size estimation. Funnel plots were done to show the publication bias, while the forest plots and subgroup analyses were used to limit the heterogeneity. A total of 20 studies (10 663 patients) met the eligibility criteria and were included for this meta-analysis. Our pooled results showed that there were significant differences in OS (pooled HR, 1. 71; 95%CI, 1. 52-1. 92; P

Journal of Huazhong University of Science and Technology. Medical sciences = Hua zhong ke ji da xue xue bao. Yi xue Ying De wen ban = Huazhong keji daxue xuebao. Yixue Yingdewen ban. 2015 Oct 22 [Epub]

Yuan-Feng Tian, Hui Zhou, Gan Yu, Ji Wang, Heng Li, Ding Xia, Hai-Bing Xiao, Ji-Hong Liu, Zhang-Qun Ye, Hua Xu, Qian-Yuan Zhuang

Department of Urology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China. Department of Urology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China. , Department of Urology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China. , Department of Cell Death and Cancer Genetics, The Hormel Institute, University of Minnesota, Austin, 55912, USA. , Department of Urology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China. , Department of Urology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China. , Department of Urology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China. , Department of Urology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China. , Department of Urology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China. , Department of Urology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China. , Department of Urology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China. 

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