PURPOSE: Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is considered as a prime mediator of angiogenesis. Various studies examining the relationship between VEGF protein overexpression with the clinical outcome in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma have yielded inconclusive results. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: We conducted a meta-analysis of 12 studies (n = 1.002 patients) that evaluated the correlation between VEGF (detected by immunohistochemistry) and 2-year overall survival. The relation between VEGF and lymph node involvement (11 studies, n = 722) was also examined. Data were synthesized with random effect and fixed effect risk ratios. RESULTS: The estimated risk of death in 2 years was 1.88-fold higher in the VEGF-positive patients [95% confidence interval, 1.43-2.45; P < 0.001 random effect calculations]. Between-study heterogeneity was nonsignificant (P = 0.15) but larger studies tended to provide more conservative estimates (P = 0.097). VEGF overexpression was not significantly associated with the presence of lymph node metastasis (risk ratio, 1.20; 95% confidence interval, 0.97-1.49; P = 0.087) and there was significant between-study heterogeneity (P = 0.08). CONCLUSIONS: Although some modest bias cannot be excluded, VEGF positivity seems to be associated with worse overall survival in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
PURPOSE:Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is considered as a prime mediator of angiogenesis. Various studies examining the relationship between VEGF protein overexpression with the clinical outcome in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma have yielded inconclusive results. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: We conducted a meta-analysis of 12 studies (n = 1.002 patients) that evaluated the correlation between VEGF (detected by immunohistochemistry) and 2-year overall survival. The relation between VEGF and lymph node involvement (11 studies, n = 722) was also examined. Data were synthesized with random effect and fixed effect risk ratios. RESULTS: The estimated risk of death in 2 years was 1.88-fold higher in the VEGF-positive patients [95% confidence interval, 1.43-2.45; P < 0.001 random effect calculations]. Between-study heterogeneity was nonsignificant (P = 0.15) but larger studies tended to provide more conservative estimates (P = 0.097). VEGF overexpression was not significantly associated with the presence of lymph node metastasis (risk ratio, 1.20; 95% confidence interval, 0.97-1.49; P = 0.087) and there was significant between-study heterogeneity (P = 0.08). CONCLUSIONS: Although some modest bias cannot be excluded, VEGF positivity seems to be associated with worse overall survival in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
Authors: Athanassios Argiris; Shuli Li; Panayiotis Savvides; James P Ohr; Jill Gilbert; Marshall A Levine; Arnab Chakravarti; Missak Haigentz; Nabil F Saba; Chukwuemeka V Ikpeazu; Charles J Schneider; Harlan A Pinto; Arlene A Forastiere; Barbara Burtness Journal: J Clin Oncol Date: 2019-10-16 Impact factor: 44.544
Authors: Min Yao; Nicholas Galanopoulos; Pierre Lavertu; Pingfu Fu; Michael Gibson; Athanassios Argiris; Rod Rezaee; Chad Zender; Jay Wasman; Mitchell Machtay; Panos Savvides Journal: Head Neck Date: 2014-10-29 Impact factor: 3.147
Authors: Athanassios Argiris; Steve C Lee; Trevor Feinstein; Sufi Thomas; Barton F Branstetter; Raja Seethala; Lin Wang; William Gooding; Jennifer R Grandis; Robert L Ferris Journal: Oral Oncol Date: 2011-09-01 Impact factor: 5.337