Histopathology
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Review Meta Analysis
Prognostic value of tumour budding in oesophageal cancer: a meta-analysis.
Recently, tumour budding (TB) has been suggested as a strong prognostic marker in oesophageal cancer. The aim of this systematic review is to test the prognostic value of TB in oesophageal cancer by a meta-analysis of previously published studies. We systematically reviewed the literature related to TB by using the bibliographic databases of Scopus, PubMed, and Web of Science. ⋯ The meta-analysis of eligible studies revealed that TB is a significant prognosticator for overall survival in oesophageal cancer, with a risk ratio (RR) of 2.97 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.81-4.85; P = 0.0023] in univariate analysis, and with an RR of 2.07 (95% CI 1.22-3.52; P = 0.017) in multivariate analysis. We conclude that a high TB score is a promising prognostic marker of poor survival in oesophageal cancer. Because of its simplicity, reproducibility and high predictive power, TB is strongly recommended to be included in the routine pathology report of oesophageal cancer.