Prognostic role of microvessel density in patients with glioma

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to systematically evaluate the prognostic role of microvessel density (MVD) in patients with glioma through performing a meta-analysis. METHODS: Web of Science, EMBASE, PubMed, Cochrane Library, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure were searched for potentially relevant literature. The study characteristics and relevant data were extracted. Hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were pooled to estimate the prognostic role of MVD in patients with glioma. RESULTS: Nine studies with 536 patients were included. The pooled HR of higher MVD for overall survival (OS) was 1.64 (95% CI, 1.07–2.50) in patients with glioma. Subgroup analyses were also performed. The pooled HRs of higher MVD in studies from East Asia studies examining high-grade gliomas and studies using anti-CD105 antibodies were 1.99 (95% CI, 1.04–3.80), 1.60 (95% CI, 1.09–2.34) and 2.99 (95% CI, 1.50–5.99), respectively. No significant publication bias was found (P = .592), but significant between-study heterogeneity was observed (I(2) = 80.5%, P <.001) in the meta-analysis. CONCLUSION: Our results suggested that higher MVD was associated with worse OS in patients with glioma. The findings may assist future research on antiangiogenic therapy and help predict prognosis in glioma. However, due to the limited number of studies, more well-designed studies are warranted to further verify our results.