Background: Several epidemiological researches have indicated that microvessel density (MVD), reflecting angiogenesis, was a negatively prognostic factor of cervical cancer. However, the results were inconsistent. Therefore, we performed a meta-analysis to evaluate the association between microvessel density and the survival probability of patients with cervical cancer.
Method: There was a comprehensive search of the PubMed, EMBASE and Cochrane databases up to August 31, 2017. Based on a fixed-effects or random-effects model, the hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated from researches on overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS).
Result: Totally, we included 13 observational researches, involving 1097 patients with cervical cancer. The results showed that high level of microvessel density was negatively correlated with OS (HR = 1.79, 95% CIs 1.31-2.44, I 2 = 60.7%, P = 0.003) and DFS (HR = 1.47, 95% CIs 1.13-1.80, I 2 = 0%, P = 0.423) of cervical cancer patients. In subgroup analysis, high counts of MVD were significantly associated with a poor survival (including OS and DFS) of the patients detected by anti-factor VIII antibodies or in European origin.
Conclusion: The present meta-analysis indicated that survival with high level of MVD was significant poorer than with low MVD in cervical cancer patient. Standardization of MVD assessment is needed.
Keywords: Cervical neoplasia; Meta-analysis; Microvessel density; Survival.