Tissue Factor-bearing MPs and the risk of venous thrombosis in cancer patients: A meta-analysis

Abstract

Cancer patients with Tissue Factor (TF)-bearing MPs have been presented association with increased risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE), but results of these studies have not been consistent. We aimed to conduct a meta-analysis to assess the relationship between TF-bearing MPs and risk of VTE in patients with cancer. PubMed, Web of Science and EMBASE Databases were systematically retrieved up to1^th June 2017. Two case-control studies and four cohort studies met the entry requirements in this analysis. The summary odd ratio (OR) were estimated by a random effect model. The overall OR was 1.76 (95% CI: 1.21-2.56, I² = 62.0%). The OR of case-control studies was 3.41 (95% CI: 1.45-8.02, I² = 0.0%) and that of cohort studies was1.53 (95% CI: 1.05-2.24, I² = 66.1%). The association between TF-bearing MPs and the risk of VTE in cancer patients was found in this meta-analysis. Publication bias testing and sensitivity subgroup analysis suggested that results of this meta-analysis were robustness. In conclusion, TF-bearing MPs were associated with increased risk of VTE in patients with cancer. Whereas, more well-designed studies and more comprehensive adjustments for confounders in further studies are warranted to affirm the association.

Figure 1

Flow chart of study identification in the meta-analysis.

Figure 2

Forest plot of association between TF-bearing MPs and VTE risk in cancer patients, the horizontal lines represent the study-specific OR and 95% CI, respectively. The diamond indicates the pooled results of OR and 95% CI.

Figure 3

Subgroup analysis of association between TF-bearing MPs and VTE risk by study design, the horizontal lines represent the study-specific OR and 95% CI, respectively. The diamond indicates the summary results of OR with its corresponding 95% CI.

Figure 4

Subgroup analysis of association between TF-bearing MPs and VTE risk by detection method, the horizontal lines represent the study-specific OR and 95% CI, respectively. The diamond indicates the summary results of OR with its corresponding 95% CI.

Figure 5

Sensitivity analysis by omitting one study each time, each small circle and dotted lines respectively represent the OR and corresponding 95% CI of the remaining studies after excluding the corresponding research.

Figure 6

Funnel plot for publication bias test, each point represents a separate study for the indicated association. The horizontal and vertical axis correspond to the OR and confidence limits. s.e., standard error.