Efficacy and safety of Kanglaite injection combined with radiochemotherapy in the treatment of advanced pancreatic cancer

Abstract

Kanglaite (KLT) injection, a kind of Chinese medicine, is considered a promising complementary therapeutic option for malignant cancer treatment. This study aimed to systematically investigate the efficacy and safety of the combination of KLT injection and radiochemotherapy for the treatment of advanced pancreatic cancer (PC). Studies were identified by searching Cochrane Library, Web of Science, PubMed, Embase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Chinese Biological Medicine Database (CBM), Wanfang database and Chinese Scientific Journal Database (VIP) before October 2018. The primary reported outcomes including efficacy, quality of life (QoL), and adverse events were systematically evaluated. Data from 16 trials with 960 patients with advanced PC were included. Compared with radiochemotherapy alone, the combination of KLT injection and radiochemotherapy significantly improved the 1-year overall survival (OS, odds ratio [OR] = 2.58 95% CI: 1.12-5.93 P = .03), overall response (ORR, OR = 2.16 95% CI: 1.58-2.94 P <.00001) and disease control rates (DCR, OR = 2.50 95% CI: 1.84-3.38 P <.00001). The QoL of patients, who received a combination of radiochemotherapy and KLT injection, also improved compared with radiochemotherapy treatment alone as indicated by the increased quality of life improved rate (QIR, OR = 3.68 95%CI: 2.36-5.75 P <.00001), pain relief rate (PRR, OR = 3.70 95% CI: 2.23-6.14 P <.00001) and weight gain rate (WGR, OR = 3.69 95% CI: 2.22-6.13 P <.00001). Adverse events related to radiochemotherapy including gastrointestinal side effects, nephrotoxicity, leukopenia, thrombocytopenia, and myelosuppression were alleviated (P <.05) when KLT was injected to patients with PC. Evidence from the Meta-analysis suggested that the combinational treatment of radiochemotherapy and KLT injection is more effective in advanced PC treatment than radiochemotherapy alone. Additionally, the combination therapy improved QoL of the patients. KLT injection can alleviate the adverse effects associated with the radiochemotherapy.