Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32102317›Full record

SynthesisCells2020

Vasculogenic Mimicry: A Promising Prognosticator in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Esophageal Cancer? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Roosa Hujanen, Rabeia Almahmoudi, Sini Karinen, Bright I Nwaru, Tuula Salo, Abdelhakim Salem

Open access · goldAbstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Cells, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 28 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
28citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
1.8field-weighted citation impact, top 14% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

28 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 38 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Review
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Review
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Roosa HujanenDepartment of Oral and Maxillofacial Diseases, Clinicum, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland.
Rabeia AlmahmoudiDepartment of Oral and Maxillofacial Diseases, Clinicum, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland.
Sini KarinenDepartment of Oral and Maxillofacial Diseases, Clinicum, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland.
Bright I NwaruKrefting Research Centre, Institute of Medicine, University of Gothenburg, 40530 Gothenburg, Sweden.
Tuula SaloDepartment of Oral and Maxillofacial Diseases, Clinicum, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland.
Abdelhakim SalemDepartment of Oral and Maxillofacial Diseases, Clinicum, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland.ORCID 0000-0002-9455-3823
University of Helsinki · FIUniversity of Gothenburg · SE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Vasculogenic mimicry (VM) is an intratumoral microcirculation pattern formed by aggressive cancer cells, which mediates tumor growth. In this study, we compiled the evidence from studies evaluating whether positive VM status can serve as a prognostic factor to patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (HNSCC) or esophagus (ESCC). Comprehensive systematic searches were conducted using Cochrane Library, Ovid Medline, PubMed, and Scopus databases. We appraised the quality of studies and the potential for bias, and performed random-effect meta-analysis to assess the prognostic impact of VM on the overall survival (OS). Seven studies with 990 patients were eligible, where VM was detected in 34.24% of patients. Positive-VM was strongly associated with poor OS (hazard ratio = 0.50; 95% confidence interval: 0.38-0.64), which remained consistent following the subgroup analysis of the studies. Furthermore, VM was associated with more metastasis to local lymph nodes and more advanced stages of HNSCC and ESCC. In conclusion, this study provides clear evidence showing that VM could serve as a promising prognosticator for patients with either HNSCC or ESCC. Further studies are warranted to assess how VM can be implemented as a reliable staging element in clinical practice and whether it could provide a new target for therapeutic intervention.

Indexed as

Esophageal NeoplasmsFemaleHumansMaleNeovascularization, PathologicPrognosisSquamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and NeckSurvival Analysiscancer cell-lined vesselsesophageal squamous cell carcinomahead and neck squamous cell carcinomameta-analysisprognosisvasculogenic mimicry

Identifiers

PMID32102317
PMCPMC7072765
OpenAlexW3006707214

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.