Red blood cell distribution width (RDW) is a significant predictor of survival in laryngeal cancer patients: Systematic literature review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND

This systematic literature review and meta-analysis investigated whether the red blood cell distribution (RDW) may predict survival outcomes in laryngeal cancer patients undergoing curative treatment.

METHODS

We conducted an electronic search in Medline and Scopus using the keywords "red blood cell distribution width" OR "RDW" AND "laryngeal cancer" OR "larynx cancer" OR "laryngeal carcinoma" OR "larynx carcinoma," without time or language restrictions (up to February 2023), for identifying studies investigating the prognostic value of RDW in patients with any form of laryngeal cancer and with a primary endpoint that was set as survival rate and/or disease-free survival between 1 and 10 years after curative treatment. The research was conducted according to the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) 2020 reporting checklist.