Meta-analysis of surgical quality-related factors associated with local recurrence rate after rectal cancer surgery

Figure 1 PRISMA flow diagram of study selection process. PRISMA flow diagram of study selection process. A total of 312 records were identified through database searching, including PubMed/MEDLINE (n = 95), EMBASE (n = 112), and the Cochrane Library (n = 105). After duplicate removal and preliminary screening, 99 records were assessed. After abstract screening of 62 records, 37 records were excluded. Thirty-nine full-text articles were assessed for eligibility, and 23 were excluded. Finally, 25 studies were included in the qualitative synthesis, of which 10 studies provided sufficient data for quantitative meta-analysis.