Abstract
Objective This meta-analysis sought to assess the efficacy and safety of Brucea javanica oil emulsion injection (BJOEI) combined with chemotherapy for treating gastric cancer (GC). Method Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) regarding BJOEI to treat GC were searched in PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Embase, the China National Knowledge Infrastructure Database (CNKI), the Wan-Fang Database, China Science and Technology Journal Database (VIP), and the Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (SinoMed) up to January 9, 2017. The clinical total effective rate, performance status, adverse drug reactions (ADRs), and other outcomes were analyzed with Review Manager 5.3 and Stata12.0 software. Results 13 RCTs involving 912 patients were included in the present meta-analysis. The results demonstrated that, compared with receiving chemotherapy alone, BJOEI combined with chemotherapy was more effective in improving clinical total effective rate (RR = 1.38, 95% CI: 1.22~1.56, P < 0.00001), performance status (RR = 1.63, 95% CI: 1.30~2.04, P < 0.00001), and relieving ADRs such as myelosuppression, neutropenia, thrombopenia, and liver damage. Statistically significant difference was observed between the experimental group and control group. Conclusion The pooled analysis showed that using BJOEI on the basis of the chemotherapy had a remarkable therapeutic effect for patients with GC, whereas more evidence-based medical researches were required to further support our study.
Highlights
Gastric cancer is the fifth most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide [1]
The results demonstrated that, compared with receiving chemotherapy alone, Brucea javanica oil emulsion injection (BJOEI) combined with chemotherapy was more effective in improving clinical total effective rate (RR = 1.38, 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs): 1.22∼1.56, P < 0.00001), performance status (RR = 1.63, 95% CI: 1.30∼2.04, P < 0.00001), and relieving adverse drug reactions (ADRs) such as myelosuppression, neutropenia, thrombopenia, and liver damage
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) holds that the occurrence and development of gastric cancer (GC) are mainly related to two factors: one is the loss of positive Qi; the other is the invasion of carcinogenic factors [3, 4]
Summary
Gastric cancer is the fifth most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide [1]. By means of enhancing or inhibiting the immune response of patients with cancer, TCM modulates the immune ability to achieve the inhibition effect of tumor growth and metastases [5]. Served as an important part of the comprehensive treatment for GC, TCM is capable of reducing side effects of chemotherapy, and able to alleviate the clinical symptoms of patients with advanced GC [6]. On the basis of comprehensively collecting published RCTs, this research took advantage of meta-analysis to objectively evaluate the efficacy and safety of BJOEI for treating GC and provided references for clinical decision-making
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