OBJECTIVETo perform a Meta analysis of prognostic cohort studies for evaluating the use of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) as a predictor of survival in patients with oral carcinoma.

METHODSA search of OVIDMEDLINE, EMBASE database and two Chinese database (CNKI and VIP) was conducted using common text words combined with medical subject headings to capture the related cohort studies. Data were collected comparing disease-free and overall survival in patients with high VEGF levels as compared to those with low levels. Studies were pooled and summary hazard ratios (HR) were calculated.

RESULTS14 texts were included in this study. High tissue VEGF levels predicted poor overall survival (HR: 2.95, 95% CI: 2.14-4.08) and disease-free survival (HR: 2.28, 95%CI: 1.61-3.21). Similarly, high VEGF levels predicted poor overall survival (HR: 2.60, 95% CI: 1.82-3.73) and disease-free survival (HR: 2.58, 95% CI: 1.73-3.84) in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma.

CONCLUSIONVEGF may be useful for defining prognosis in oral carcinoma.