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Table 3 Subgroup analyses

From: The role of EGFR mutation as a prognostic factor in survival after diagnosis of brain metastasis in non-small cell lung cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Group

Number of cohorts

HR and 95% CI

P value

Heterogeneity (%)

P value for heterogeneity

Ratio between subgroups

P value between- subgroup

Country

 Eastern Countries

9

0.59 (0.37–0.92)

0.021

76.3

< 0.001

0.68 (0.38–1.21)

0.189

 Western Countries

10

0.87 (0.61–1.25)

0.455

81.6

< 0.001

Study design

 Prospective

3

0.81 (0.18–3.75)

0.792

83.7

0.002

1.16 (0.25–5.38)

0.852

 Retrospective

16

0.70 (0.55–0.89)

0.004

64.7

< 0.001

Disease status

 Adenocarcinoma

6

0.65 (0.36–1.18)

0.154

75.5

0.001

0.86 (0.43–1.72)

0.660

 Both

13

0.76 (0.53–1.10)

0.152

86.7

< 0.001

Sample size

 500 or more

2

0.52 (0.36–0.76)

0.001

49.4

0.160

0.68 (0.41–1.10)

0.117

 <  500

17

0.77 (0.56–1.06)

0.106

81.4

< 0.001

Mean age (years)

 65.0 or older

4

0.59 (0.36–0.98)

0.043

73.2

0.011

0.65 (0.35–1.19)

0.160

 <  65.0

11

0.91 (0.65–1.28)

0.595

78.0

< 0.001

Percentage male (%)

 50.0 or greater

12

0.81 (0.55–1.19)

0.290

86.2

< 0.001

1.35 (0.82–2.23)

0.242

 <  50.0

7

0.60 (0.43–0.82)

0.002

42.9

0.105

Percentage of current/past smokers (%)

 50.0 or greater

11

0.78 (0.52–1.17)

0.239

87.5

< 0.001

1.50 (0.64–3.50)

0.349

 <  50.0

5

0.52 (0.25–1.11)

0.092

81.1

< 0.001

Percentage of patients using TKI (%)

 30.0 or greater

9

0.60 (0.48–0.75)

< 0.001

26.2

0.211

0.59 (0.32–1.10)

0.099

 <  30.0

4

1.01 (0.57–1.81)

0.963

87.3

< 0.001

Study quality

 High

10

0.67 (0.50–0.90)

0.007

58.0

0.011

0.85 (0.47–1.53)

0.585

 Low

9

0.79 (0.47–1.31)

0.357

88.3

< 0.001

  1. CI confidence intervals, HR hazards ratios, TKI tyrosine kinase inhibitor, bold entries P<0.05