Association of Serum Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) with Colorectal Cancer: A Systemic Review and Meta-Analysis

Author(s): Donglie Zhu, Zelong Yang, Xiangxia Miao, Wanli Yang, Mingzuo Jiang, Yong Chen

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is one of the most important regulators in angiogenesis, affecting endothelial cell survival and function. Some studies have shown that serum VEGF is higher in CRC patients than in healthy control groups while other studies have given the opposite conclusion. Therefore, this meta-analysis is purposed to systemically review and evaluate the correlation between serum VEGF and CRC. Finally, 23 studies were included in this study. The meta-analysis demonstrated that serum VEGF in the cancer group was significantly higher than that in the control group (SMD: 1.5, 95% CI: 1.05-1.95, P<0.001). However, obvious heterogeneity existed among the studies (P<0.001, I2=96%) and subgroup analyses were performed to investigate the source of this heterogeneity. The results indicated that with respect to VEGF, the correlation was significant regarding tumor location, study region, age, and study size. The results of this meta-analysis showed that serum level of VEGF might be used as a candidate biomarker for CRC patients.