In this study, a total of 17 studies reported the data of OS, and five studies reported DFS, the pooled results showed that higher E2F1 expression was correlated with unfavorable OS (HR = 1.10, 95%CI:1.03–1.16, I2 = 95.3%, *PHeterogeneity = 0.000) and DFS (HR = 1.41, 95%CI:1.33–1.49, I2 = 95.2%, *PHeterogeneity = 0.000) in cancer patients (Fig. 3). This evidence concerns the gene E2F1 and cancer.