To investigate the relationship between extranodal tumor deposits and prognosis in patients with colorectal cancer.

The literatures on extranodal tumor deposits and postoperative survival rate in patients with colorectal cancer published at home and abroad from 1990 to 2014 were retrieved in 15 English literature databases such as MEDLINE/PubMed, Web of Science, Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) , SpringerLink and Chinese literature databases such as Chinese Biomedical Literature Database CD-ROM, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) Database with the internet platform of Yonsei University Library. After screening for inclusion, data extraction and quality assessment, meta-analysis was conducted by the Review Manager 5.3 software.

There were 10 studies meeting the inclusion criteria for meta-analysis. The total sample size of the studies was 4 068 cases with ENTD (+) 727 cases, while ENTD (-) 3 341 cases. Meta analysis showed that 5-year overall survival rate and 5-year relapse-free survival rate were significantly lower in ENTD (+) group than those in ENTD (-) group (OR 0.27, 0.23; 95% CI: 0.18 to 0.43, 0.16 to 0.34 respectively, both P = 0.000) ; the 5-year overall survival rates were both significantly lower in ENTD (+) group as compared to ENTD (-) group for patients with N₀ and N⁺ colorectal cancer (both P < 0.05).

Extranodal tumor deposits is a poor prognostic factor of patients with colorectal cancer.

Colorectal neoplasms; Extranodal tumor deposits; Prognosis; Meta-analysis