SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Oncol.
Sec. Gynecological Oncology
Assessment of serum vascular endothelial growth factor levels in ovarian cancer prognosis: A meta-analysis
Provisionally accepted
- Hainan General Hospital, Haikou, China
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Background: This meta-analysis aimed to comprehensively assess the relationship between serum vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) levels and the prognosis of ovarian cancer. In recent years, the role of VEGF as an important biomarker in tumorigenesis and development has been widely recognized. We aimed to clarify this association to provide evidence for clinical practice. Methods: A comprehensive literature search was conducted in PubMed, Wiley Library, Web of Science, Wanfang, VIP, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) from inception to June 30, 2024. After screening 2,767 initially identified records, 9 studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the meta-analysis. Data were analyzed using RevMan 5.3 and R 4.4.2 software. The quality of the included studies was assessed according to predetermined criteria. Results: The meta-analysis revealed that serum VEGF levels were significantly higher in ovarian cancer patients than in the normal control group [mean difference (MD) = 210.00, 95% confidence interval (CI): 96.92 to 331.09]. In addition, serum levels of VEGF were significantly higher in patients with advanced ovarian cancer compared with those with early-stage ovarian cancer [MD = -173.88, 95% CI: -290.28 to -57.49]. Analysis of serum VEGF levels before and after surgical treatment showed a significant decrease in VEGF levels after surgery [MD = 242.92, 95% CI: 154.66 to 331.17]. Prognostic analysis showed a significant association between serum VEGF levels and Overall Survival (OS) [hazard ratio (HR)=2.48, 95% CI: 1.84 to 3.34]. However, the association with disease-free survival (DFS) was not statistically significant (HR = 1.29, 95% CI: 0.87 to 1.93). Conclusion: This meta-analysis demonstrates that elevated serum VEGF levels are associated with ovarian cancer progression and reduced overall survival. Although no significant association was found with DFS, serum VEGF levels remains a potential predictive biomarker worthy of further investigation. Future large-scale prospective studies are needed to confirm the clinical utility of serum VEGF in ovarian cancer management.
Keywords: vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), ovarian cancer, prognosis, survival analysis, Meta-analysis
Received: 13 May 2025; Accepted: 03 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zheng, Liu and Wang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Shengtan Wang, 2000wangtan@163.com
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