SynthesisBMJ open2021
Meta-analysis of the prognostic value of pretreatment serum ferritin in hepatobiliary and pancreas (HBP) cancers.
Synthesis in BMJ open, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 8 citations in OpenAlex.
- Serum ferritin as a non-invasive prognostic biomarker in cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Pooled it
- A case-control study in Taiwanese cohort and meta-analysis of serum ferritin in pancreatic cancer.Scientific reports · 2021Pooled it
- Prognostic value of preoperative serum ferritin in cholangiocarcinoma patients.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Exploring the Role of Metabolic Hyperferritinaemia (MHF) in Steatotic Liver Disease (SLD) and Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC).Cancers · 2025Review
- Post-gastrectomy anemia and ferritin dynamics: key determinants of prognosis and clinical management in patients with gastric cancer.Frontiers in oncology · 2025Article
- Prognostic Values of the Systemic Immune Inflammation Index and Ferritin Level Combined with Pathological Indicators for the Patients with Colon Cancer After Radical Resection.Journal of inflammation research · 2025Article
- Is Serum Ferritin a Predictor of Blood Transfusions Outcome and Survival in Childhood Lymphomas and Solid Tumors?Cancers · 2024Article
- Prognostic role of pretreatment serum ferritin concentration in lung cancer patients: A meta-analysis.World journal of clinical cases · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
objectivesStudies have shown that serum ferritin (SF) has unfavourable prognostic value in hepatobiliary and pancreas (HBP) cancers. This meta-analysis aimed to comprehensively assess the prognostic role of pretreatment SF in patients with HBP cancers.
methodsEligible studies published before January 2020 were obtained through a comprehensive search in the PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library and EMBASE databases. Pooled HRs and 95% CIs were then employed as effect sizes.
resultsSeven studies comprising 1244 patients were pooled. Elevated pretreatment SF was associated with worse overall survival (OS) (HR 1.60, 95% CI 1.36 to 1.88, p<0.001) and recurrence-free survival/progression-free survival/time to recurrence (HR 1.70, 95% CI 1.15 to 2.52, p=0.008). Significant prognostic value of elevated pretreatment SF on OS was detected in the subgroups regardless of the cancer type, race, SF cut-off value, tumour-node-metastasis stage and Newcastle-Ottawa Scale score.
conclusionElevated pretreatment SF was associated with worse survival outcome of patients with HBP cancers. As such, it may serve as a novel prognostic biomarker for HBP cancers.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.