Backgroud: Paclitaxel (PTX) has become a widely used second-line therapy for advanced gastric cancer. There exists controversy whether targeted therapy combined with PTX can provide additional benefit over PTX alone. Therefore, a meta-analysis was carried out to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the two therapy regimes.
Methods: We searched systematically for studies from the databases of PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and the Cochrane Library published between January 2000 and August 2019. Only randomized controlled trials were eligible. Statistical analysis was performed by meta-analysis. The primary end points were progression-free survival and overall survival, objective response rate and adverse events were the secondary end points.
Results: A total of 4 randomized controlled trials with 1574 patients (PTX + targeted therapy, n = 786; PTX, n = 788) were included for the final analysis. As compared with PTX monotherapy, PTX + targeted therapy significantly improved progression-free survival (hazard ratio = 0.88, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.84-0.92, P < .001), overall survival (hazard ratio = 0.90, 95% CI: 0.86-0.95, P < .001) and was associated with a better objective response rate (RR = 1.80; 95% CI: 1.45-2.24; P < .001). PTX+targeted therapy group significantly increased incidences of grade 3 to 5 neutropenia, fatigue and neuropathy (P < .05). No statistically significant differences were observed in the incidences of grade 3 to 5 anemia, decreased appetite, nausea, diarrhea and abdominal pain between the two treatments (P >.05).
Conclusions: Second-line PTX+targeted therapy is a more effective treatment option with tolerable safety profile for advanced gastric cancer as a result of improved survival, though with additional toxicity.