| | Number of subsets | Fixed effect (95% CI) | Heterogeneity test ( value) | Random effect (95% CI) | Egger’s test ( value) | Meta-regression test ( value) |
| Age | GCLS | 13 | 57.892 [57.293, 58.491] | <0.001 | 58.182 [56.857, 59.507] | 0.412 | 0.152 | Non-GCLS | 11 | 58.252 [58.059, 58.445] | <0.001 | 59.864 [58.410, 61.318] | 0.164 |
| Male ratio | GCLS | 26 | 0.794 [0.772, 0.815] | <0.001 | 0.765 [0.712, 0.811] | 0.064 | 0.052 | Non-GCLS | 18 | 0.686 [0.678, 0.694] | <0.001 | 0.709 [0.665, 0.751] | 0.333 |
| Size (cm) | GCLS | 7 | 2.763 [2.618, 2.908] | <0.001 | 3.275 [2.521, 4.029] | 0.181 | 0.032 | Non-GCLS | 7 | 2.908 [2.865, 2.951] | <0.001 | 4.636 [3.786, 5.486] | 0.018 |
| Lauren’s classification, diffuse type | GCLS | 10 | 0.554 [0.504, 0.602] | <0.001 | 0.577 [0.437, 0.705] | 0.512 | 0.036 | Non-GCLS | 8 | 0.444 [0.433, 0.455] | <0.001 | 0.455 [0.397, 0.514] | 0.949 |
| Tumor differentiation, poorly | GCLS | 8 | 0.407 [0.369, 0.446] | <0.001 | 0.710 [0.474, 0.870] | 0.070 | 0.376 | Non-GCLS6 | 6 | 0.618 [0.605, 0.630] | 0.009 | 0.610 [0.574, 0.645] | 0.859 |
| Tumor location, proximal 1/3 | GCLS | 15 | 0.280 [0.254, 0.308] | <0.001 | 0.249 [0.190, 0.319] | 0.223 | <0.001 | Non-GCLS | 14 | 0.132 [0.126, 0.137] | <0.001 | 0.148 [0.123, 0.177] | 0.375 |
| Lymphatic invasion | GCLS | 6 | 0.330 [0.253, 0.417] | <0.001 | 0.259 [0.113, 0.490] | 0.369 | 0.024 | Non-GCLS | 7 | 0.381 [0.368, 0.395] | <0.001 | 0.516 [0.405, 0.625] | 0.116 |
| Vascular invasion | GCLS | 7 | 0.257 [0.193, 0.334] | <0.001 | 0.146 [0.049, 0.361] | 0.336 | 0.666 | Non-GCLS | 8 | 0.127 [0.117, 0.137] | <0.001 | 0.214 [0.120, 0.353] | 0.099 |
| Perineural invasion | GCLS | 13 | 0.150 [0.122, 0.183] | <0.001 | 0.104 [0.056, 0.184] | 0.170 | 0.335 | Non-GCLS | 9 | 0.129 [0.122, 0.137] | <0.001 | 0.158 [0.081, 0.284] | 0.977 |
| pT stage, pT1/T2 | GCLS | 14 | 0.624 [0.587, 0.660] | <0.001 | 0.592 [0.472, 0.702] | 0.559 | 0.102 | Non-GCLS | 12 | 0.728 [0.716, 0.740] | <0.001 | 0.428 [0.301, 0.565] | 0.005 |
| Lymph node metastasis | GCLS | 20 | 0.351 [0.322, 0.381] | <0.001 | 0.308 [0.217, 0.417] | 0.368 | 0.100 | Non-GCLS | 15 | 0.324 [0.314, 0.333] | <0.001 | 0.462 [0.322, 0.608] | 0.486 |
| Distant metastasis | GCLS | 2 | 0.197 [0.057, 0.499] | <0.001 | 0.197 [0.057, 0.499] | — | — |
| pTNM stage, I/II | GCLS | 13 | 0.696 [0.659, 0.731] | <0.001 | 0.750 [0.599, 0.858] | 0.428 | 0.042 | Non-GCLS | 11 | 0.685 [0.673, 0.697] | <0.001 | 0.500 [0.317, 0.683] | 0.240 |
|
|