A high plasma D-dimer level predicts poor prognosis in gynecological tumors in East Asia area: a systematic review and meta-analysis

High pre-treatment plasma D-dimer levels have been reported as a factor associated with a poor prognosis in different types of malignancies, including pancreatic, gastric, colorectal, lung, and nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Here, we performed a meta-analysis to determine the association of plasma D-dimer levels and long term survival in gynecological cancers, including ovarian, cervical and endometrial carcinoma. We searched all eligible publications in PubMed and Web of Science Databases up to August 2016. Primary outcomes, including overall survival (OS), disease-free survival and hazard ratios (HR) of were extracted and analyzed. Heterogeneity and publication bias were also assessed. A total of 7 eligible studies with 1112 cases were included in this study and all included studies are conducted in East Asia area. We found that gynecological cancer patients with high D-dimer demonstrates a much lower 5-year survival rate than those with low D-dimer levels (OR 4.12, 95% CI 3.04-5.58, P<0.00001). No significant heterogeneity is found (I-2 = 10 %; P = 0.35). Importantly, pooled analysis showed that high plasma D-dimer levels are predictive of a shorter OS in gynecological cancers (HR 2.09, 95% CI 1.59-2.74). No heterogeneity is observed (I-2=5%, P=0.39). Additionally, a subgroup analysis of ovarian cancer is conducted. In conclusion, this meta-analysis showed that a high plasma D-dimer level predicts poor prognosis in gynecological tumors.