Shark cartilage for cancer patients: a mini systematic review

The objective of this systematic review was to assess the effectiveness of shark cartilage as a treatment option for cancer patients. Six databases were searched from their inception to August 2010. Only RCTs testing shark cartilage against any control intervention in humans with any type of cancer were considered. The selection of studies, data extraction and validation were performed by one reviewer. For safety and toxicity studies, uncontrolled trials and case studies were excluded. Two RCTs met the inclusion criteria. The methodological quality of studies was high. None of the RCTs suggested that shark cartilage plus conventional treatment lead to a significant reduction in tumour size or improvements in overall survival when compared to placebo and conventional treatment. Current clinical evidence does not support the efficacy of oral shark cartilage in cancer treatment.     

中国癌症患者癌因性疲乏影响因素的meta分析

目的:探讨中国癌症患者癌因性疲乏(CRF)的影响因素.方法:计算机检索数据库PubMed、Embase、Web of Science及CNKI、CBM、Wan Fang、VIP,搜索建库至2020年3月31日的有关中国癌症患者CRF影响因素的相关文献,使用RevMan 5.3软件进行分析.结果:本研究共纳入21篇文献,...     

A systematic review of epidemiologic studies of styrene and cancer

Previous epidemiology reviews of exposure to styrene and the risk of cancer considered studies published through 13 November 2013. Since then, additional relevant research has been published. No review has included meta-analyses. The current systematic review considered research published through June 2017; included meta-analyses of the relationship between any exposure to styrene and cancers identified as being of concern, including non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), leukemia and cancers of the esophagus, pancreas, lung and kidney; and evaluated several other forms of cancer. Meta-relative risks for all studies were 1.14 (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.91–1.43) for NHL, 1.00 (95% CI, 0.80–1.26) for multiple myeloma, 0.98 (95% CI, 0.87–1.09) for all leukemia, 1.03 (95% CI, 0.92–1.15) for esophageal cancer, 1.02 (95% CI, 0.93–1.12) for pancreatic cancer, 1.09 (95% CI, 0.95–1.24) for lung cancer and 1.10 (95% CI, 0.99–1.22) for kidney cancer. Individual studies provided little evidence of exposure-response or induction time trends. Limitations of the available research and of the meta-analyses included reliance in most studies on mortality data rather than on incidence data, lack of quantitative estimates of styrene exposure for individual subjects and lack of information on lifestyle factors. Consideration of all pertinent data, including substantial recent research, indicates that the epidemiologic evidence on the potential carcinogenicity of styrene is inconclusive and does not establish that styrene causes any form of cancer in humans.     

紫杉醇治疗中国人群非小细胞肺癌的系统评价

目的：系统评价紫杉醇在非小细胞肺癌治疗中的临床疗效和安全性。方法：检索万方数据库。纳入含紫杉醇治疗非小细胞肺癌的随机对照研究。结果：共纳入25个随机对照研究,2160例非小细胞肺癌患者。Meta分析结果表明,含紫杉醇治疗方案的治疗反应率较对照组高[OR=1.12,95%CI（1.03,1.23）];致Ⅲ度及以上白细胞减少高于对照组[OR=1.35,95%CI（1.05,1.74）];致Ⅲ度及以上血小板减少低于对照组[OR=0.37,95%CI（0.24,0.58）];致Ⅲ度及以上消化道反应与对照组相近似[OR=1.24,95%CI（0.85,1.80）];治疗组与对照组化疗后的1年生存人数差异无明显区别[OR=1.15,95%CI（0.94,1.40）]。结论：紫杉醇治疗非小细胞肺癌有一定的疗效。由于本系统评价纳入的研究存在偏倚的可能,对结果的论证强度会有影响,期待有更多高质量的随机双盲对照试验加以证明。     

Chemotherapy-associated osteonecrosis in cancer patients with solid tumours: a systematic review.

Non-traumatic osteonecrosis of bone is recognized as a potential complication in solid-tumour cancer patients receiving treatment with cytotoxic chemotherapy. This review summarizes recent reports of osteonecrosis associated with chemotherapy in cancer patients, and describes the possible underlying pathophysiology and options available for its diagnosis, prevention and treatment. Fifty-four reported cases of non-traumatic osteonecrosis in adult patients with solid tumours receiving chemotherapy were identified by searching for reports in the medical literature. Osteonecrosis was observed most commonly in men receiving chemotherapy for testicular cancer. Osteonecrosis was also seen in patients receiving chemotherapy for breast, ovarian, small-cell lung cancer and osteosarcoma. Most patients had received corticosteroids, had femoral head involvement and had delayed onset of osteonecrosis. It appears that patients at higher risk for osteonecrosis with chemotherapy are identifiable. As the long-term survival of patients with solid tumours receiving chemotherapy increases, the prevalence of treatment-related osteonecrosis may also increase. Patients should be informed that osteonecrosis is a potential complication of cancer treatment. Measures to reduce risk should be taken, and patients should be monitored for early symptoms. Routine screening for chemotherapy-associated osteonecrosis is not recommended; however, a high index of clinical suspicion in patients at risk may allow for early intervention and preservation of the joints.     

Polypharmacy among COVID-19 patients: A systematic review

BackgroundPolypharmacy, the concomitant use of 5 or more medications, is highly prevalent among older adults and individuals with multimorbid conditions and has been linked to suboptimal clinical outcomes in various diseases. However, little is known about the impact of polypharmacy on clinical outcomes among coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients.ObjectiveThis systematic review summarizes the available literature on the association between polypharmacy and specific drug classes, and clinical outcomes among COVID-19 patients.MethodsWe conducted an electronic database search on Embase, Medline, Cochrane, Scopus, Google Scholar, clinicaltrials.gov, LITCOVID, PubMed, PubMed Central (PMC), and China national knowledge infrastructure for studies on Polypharmacy among COVID-19 patients using relevant combinations of the keywords. Only studies published between November 2019 to September 2020 were included. Seven articles out of 1502 unique articles met the inclusion criteria and were used for the current study. We adopted the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guideline in conducting and reporting this systematic review.ResultsThe total sample size of all studies was 474,342, out of which 10,519 patients were COVID-19 positive, and 4818 COVID-19 positive patients experienced polypharmacy. Five out of the 7 included studies found associations between polypharmacy and negative clinical outcomes among COVID-19 patients. Polypharmacy was associated with increase in the relative risk of a positive COVID-19 test result (P < 0.01), death among male COVID-19 patients (P < 0.001), increase in the rate of acute kidney injury (P = 0.003), and adverse drug reactions (P < 0.001). Antipsychotic drugs were associated with severe COVID-19 morbidity (OR = 2.79; 95% CI 2.23–3.49) and increased risk of death among COVID-19 infected men (OR = 1.71; 95% CI 1.18–2.48) and women (OR = 1.96; 95% CI 1.41–2.73).ConclusionPolypharmacy and selected drug classes are associated with increased risk of adverse clinical outcomes among COVID-19 patients. Understanding these relationships can enhance risk stratification and evidence-based decision-making that may improve care and clinical outcomes of COVID-19 patients.     

Risk of hypertension with regorafenib in cancer patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background

Regorafenib is a novel multikinase inhibitor approved for use in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) and locally advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs). Hypertension is one of the major adverse events of this agent, but to date the incidence and risk of hypertension with regorafenib have not been systematically investigated. We have conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of published clinical trials to determine its overall incidence and risk.

Methods

PubMed, Web of Science and abstracts presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meetings were searched to identify relevant studies published up to September 9, 2013. Eligible studies were prospective phase II or III clinical trials using regorafenib in cancer patients with data on hypertension available. The incidence and relative risk (RR) of hypertension were calculated using a random-effects model.

Results

Data from a total of 1,069 patients (regorafenib n?=?750; controls n?=?319) from five clinical trials were included for analysis. The overall incidence of all-grade and high-grade hypertension were 44.4 % [95 % confidence interval (CI) 30.8–59.0 %) and 12.5 % (95 % CI 5.2–27.1 %), respectively. The use of regorafenib in cancer patients was associated with a significantly increased risk of all-grade (RR 3.76, 95 % CI 2.35–5.99) and high-grade (RR, 8.39, 95 % CI 3.10–22.71) hypertension. The risk might vary with tumor types (P?=?0.000).

Conclusions

Patients with cancer receiving regorafenib have a significantly higher risk of developing hypertension. Close monitoring and appropriate management of this hypertension are strongly recommended.     

Pharmacogenetics in colorectal cancer: a systematic review

Pharmacological treatment of colorectal cancer has improved survival rates in recent years. Individual genetic variation in genes associated with metabolism and targets of commonly used drugs can be responsible for variability in treatment outcome and toxicity. Diverse study designs have been used and heterogeneous end points evaluated by studies assessing the association of genetic markers with treatment outcome. We conducted this systematic review, including 51 studies, to present a comprehensive overview and draw further conclusions. To facilitate comparison of reported study results, risk estimates for observed genetic variants in 33 key genes are presented using defined reference categories and recalculated risk estimates based on data provided in original publications, where necessary. Overall, evidence indicates associations of the UGT1A1(*) 28 variant genotype with toxicity after irinotecan treatment, mutations in GSTP1-105 with improved treatment outcome and the XPD-751 variant genotype with poor treatment outcome after oxaliplatin treatment, and amplification of the EGFR gene with improved treatment outcome after therapy with monoclonal antibodies. Adequately powered prospective investigations designed specifically for pharmacogenetics are needed.     

A systematic review of hospitalization resulting from medicine-related problems in adult patients

Aims

Medicine-related problems (MRPs) represent a major issue leading to hospitalization, especially in adult and elderly patients. The aims of this review are to investigate the prevalence, causes and major risk factors for MRPs leading to hospitalization in adult patients and to identify the main medicine classes involved.

Methods

Studies were identified through electronic searches of Medline, Embase, Scopus and International Pharmaceutical Abstracts between January 2000 and May 2013. A systematic review was conducted of both retrospective and prospective studies. Studies included were those involving hospitalization resulting from MRPs in adults (≥18 years old), whereas studies excluded were those investigating drug misuse and abuse and studies investigating MRPs in hospitalized patients. Data analysis was performed using SPSS version 20.

Results

Forty-five studies were identified, including 21 that investigated hospitalization resulting from adverse drug reactions, six studies that investigated hospitalization due to adverse drug events and 18 studies that investigated hospitalization due to MRPs. The median prevalence rates of hospitalization resulting from adverse drug reactions, adverse drug events and MRPs were 7% (interquartile range, 2.4–14.9%), 4.6% (interquartile range, 2.85–16.6%) and 12.1% (interquartile range, 6.43–22.2%), respectively. The major causes contributing to MRPs were adverse drug reactions and noncompliance. In addition, the major risk factors associated with MRPs were old age, polypharmacy and comorbidities. Moreover, the main classes of medicines implicated were medicines used to treat cardiovascular diseases and diabetes.

Conclusions

Hospitalization due to MRPs had a high prevalence, in the range of 4.6–12.1%. Most MRPs encountered were prevalent among adult patients taking medicines for cardiovascular diseases and diabetes.