We performed a meta-analysis of diarrhea and stomatitis associated with erlotinib use in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer. Eligible studies included randomized trials of patients with non-small cell lung cancer on erlotinib describing events of diarrhea and stomatitis. A total of 19 clinical trials including 7524 patients were considered eligible for the meta-analysis. The relative risk of all-grade diarrhea and stomatitis were 2.96 (95% CI: 2.31-3.8; p < 0.00001), 3.62 (95% CI: 2.43-5.39; p = 0.00001), respectively, whereas the relative risk of high-grade diarrhea and stomatitis were 4.65 (95% CI: 3.30-6.55; p < 0.00001), 2.63 (95% CI: 0.83-8.27; p = 0.1), respectively. Our meta-analysis has demonstrated that regimens containing erlotinib for the treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer are associated with a significantly increased risk of all-grade diarrhea, stomatitis and high-grade diarrhea. Close clinical monitoring is required when using and administering this drug.
Keywords: NSCLC; diarrhea; erlotinib; meta-analysis; stomatitis.