Forest plots of HRs for the correlation between TAMs density and DFS.

<p>(A) Intratumor CD68⁺ TAMs. (B) Stroma CD68⁺ TAMs. (C) Intratumor M2 TAMs. (D) Stroma M2 TAMs.</p

Sensitivity analysis of TAMs on OS and funnel plots of publication bias in analysis of OS.

<p>(A) Sensitivity analysis of generalised TAMs. (B) Sensitivity analysis of CD68⁺ TAMs. (C) Sensitivity analysis of M2 TAMs. (D) Funnel plot for generalised TAMs on OS. (E) Funnel plot for CD68⁺ TAMs. (F) Funnel plot for M2 TAMs.</p

Forest plots of HRs for the correlation between TAMs density and OS.

<p>(A) Generalized TAMs. (B) CD68⁺ TAMs. (C) M1 TAMs. (D) M2 TAMs.</p

The relationship between TAMs and clinicopathological characteristics.

<p>The relationship between TAMs and clinicopathological characteristics.</p

The Prognostic and Clinicopathological Significance of Tumor-Associated Macrophages in Patients with Gastric Cancer: A Meta-Analysis

<div><p>Objective</p><p>Comprehensive studies have investigated the prognostic and clinicopathological value of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) in gastric cancer patients, yet results remain controversial. Therefore, we performed a meta-analysis to clarify this issue.</p><p>Methods</p><p>PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library databases were searched to identify eligible studies. We extracted hazard ratios (HRs) and odds ratios (ORs) with their corresponding 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) to estimate the effect sizes. In addition, subgroup analysis and sensitivity analysis were also conducted.</p><p>Results</p><p>A total of 19 studies involving 2242 patients were included. High generalised TAMs density was significantly associated with poor overall survival (OS) (HR 1.49, 95% CI 1.15–1.95). Subgroup analysis revealed that CD68⁺ TAMs had no significant effect on OS (HR 1.38, 95% CI 1.00–1.91). High M1 TAMs density was correlated with better OS (HR 0.45, 95% CI 0.32–0.65). By contrast, high density of M2 TAMs was correlated with a poor prognosis for OS (HR 1.48, 95% CI 1.25–1.75). Furthermore, high M2 TAMs density was correlated with larger tumor size, diffuse Lauren type, poor histologic differentiation, deeper tumor invasion, lymph node metastasis, and advanced TNM stage.</p><p>Conclusions</p><p>Overall, this meta-analysis reveal that although CD68⁺ TAMs infiltration has the neutral prognostic effects on OS, the M1/M2 polarization of TAMs are predicative factor of prognosis in gastric cancer patients.</p></div

Flow chart of the study selection process.

<p>Flow chart of the study selection process.</p