Supplementary Material for: Role of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Expression on Patient Survival in Pancreatic Cancer: A Meta-Analysis

<i>Background/Aims:</i> Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) has been considered as an attractive and potential therapeutic target of pancreatic cancer. However, the clinical importance of EGFR expression remains controversial. <i>Methods:</i> We performed a meta-analysis of previous studies to quantitatively review the effects of EGFR expression on survival in patients with pancreatic cancer. <i>Results:</i> Eight studies (570 patients) were included to perform a meta-analysis of the survival results. Overall, positivity for EGFR expression was 45.1% in pancreatic carcinoma. The combined hazard ratio was 1.225 (95% CI 1.014–1.481; p = 0.035), indicating that EGFR expression has a significant impact on survival. Heterogeneity was absent between studies and publication bias, which suggests that the summary statistics obtained may approximate the actual average. Three trials reported a survival disadvantage for patients with EGFR expression while five trials reported no statistically significant difference. <i>Conclusion:</i> EGFR expression is a poor prognostic factor for survival in patients with pancreatic cancer.

<i>背景与目的：</i> 表皮生长因子受体（Epidermal growth factor receptor, EGFR）一直被视为胰腺癌极具潜力的治疗靶点。然而，EGFR表达的临床意义仍存在争议。<i>方法：</i> 本研究针对既往研究开展荟萃分析，定量评价EGFR表达对胰腺癌患者生存结局的影响。<i>结果：</i> 共纳入8项研究（含570例患者）进行生存结局的荟萃分析。整体而言，胰腺癌组织中EGFR表达阳性率为45.1%。合并风险比为1.225（95%置信区间：1.014~1.481；P=0.035），提示EGFR表达对患者生存具有显著影响。各研究间无异质性，亦未发现发表偏倚，表明本研究所得汇总统计量可近似反映真实平均水平。其中3项研究报道EGFR表达阳性患者存在生存劣势，另有5项研究未观察到统计学显著差异。<i>结论：</i> EGFR表达是胰腺癌患者生存的不良预后因素。