The prognostic impact of tumor length in esophageal cancer: Protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: More and more studies were performed to explore the prognostic role of tumor length in esophageal cancer (EC). However, the results remain controversial. Hence, the aim of the review was to evaluate the association between tumor length and oncologic outcome in EC patients through meta-analysis. METHODS: A systematic literature search for relevant articles published in English language will be conducted in the PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase. Hazard ratio and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) will be employed as effect measures to estimate the correlation between tumor length and the oncologic outcomes including overall survival, disease-free survival, progression-free survival, relapse-free survival, and cancer-specific survival. We will use the software STATA 14.0 to perform the meta-analysis to calculate the data synthesis. RESULTS: The review will provide a high-quality synthesis of current evidence of the prognostic role of tumor length in ECs. The results will be published in a peer-reviewed journal. CONCLUSION: This will be the first systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the prognostic role of tumor length in EC patients. The results will better predict EC survival and identify higher-risk patients for postoperative therapy. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: This systematic review protocol has been registered in the PROSPERO network (No. CRD42018106851).