Objective To systematically review the effectiveness and safety of hyperthermia (HT) plus intraperitoneal hyperthermic perfusion chemotherapy (IHPC) versus IHPC alone for malignant ascites. Methods Such databases as PubMed, The Cochrane Library, EMbase, VIP, WanFang, CNKI and CBM were electronically and comprehensively searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on HT plus IHPC vs. IHPC alone for malignant ascites from inception to March 2013. Two reviewers independently screened studies according to inclusion and exclusion criteria, extracted data and assessed quality of the included studies. References of the included studies were also retrieved. Then, meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.1 software. Results A total of 16 RCTs involving 984 patients were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that, compared with the IHPC alone group, the HT plus IHPC group had a higher effective rate of controlling ascites (OR=3.40, 95%CI 2.58 to 4.48, Plt;0.000 01), better improvement in quality of life (OR=2.77, 95%CI 1.90 to 4.05, Plt;0.000 01), with significant differences. The two groups were alike in 1-year survival with no significant difference (OR=1.80, 95%CI 0.61 to 5.31, P=0.28). As for safety, there was no significant difference between the two groups in the incidences of nausea and vomiting, abdominal distension and pain, myelosuppression, diarrhea, and constipation. Conclusion The results of this systematic review show that, compared with IHPC alone, HT plus IHPC improves the effective rate as well as the quality of life of patients with malignant ascites, and it does not increase the incidences of adverse reactions. Due to the limited quality and quantity of the included studies, more high quality RCTs with larger sample size are needed to verify the above conclusion.
Objective To systematically evaluate the effectiveness and safety of zoledronic acid combined with radiotherapy in treating bone metastasis of malignant tumor. Methods Such databases as PubMed, EMbase, The Cochrane Library (Issue 10, 2012), CBM, CNKI, VIP and WanFang Data were searched to collect randomized clinical trials (RCTs) on bone metastasis of malignant tumor from inception to October, 2012. References of included studies were also retrieved. Two reviewers independently screened studies according to exclusion and inclusion criteria, extracted data, and assessed the methodological quality. Then, meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.1 software. Results Twenty nine trials were included involving 2 021 patients. The results of meta-analysis showed that, compared with the radiotherapy alone group, zoledronic acid combined with radiotherapy improved the effectiveness rate of pain relieving at the end of treatment (OR=3.08, 95%CI 2.30 to 4.12, Plt;0.000 01), the effectiveness rate of pain relieving two weeks after treatment (OR=3.39, 95%CI 2.52 to 4.56, Plt;0.000 01), the quality of life (OR=2.74, 95%CI 1.66 to 4.52, Plt;0.000 01) and the ability of movement (OR=2.96, 95%CI 2.16 to 4.05, Plt;0.000 01). Zoledronic acid combined with radiotherapy also reduced the incidence of new bone metastasis (OR=0.21, 95%CI 0.10 to 0.45, Plt;0.000 1) and the incidence rate of bone-related events (OR=0.17, 95%CI 0.03 to 0.92, P=0.04). The adverse reactions of zoledronic acid combined with radiotherapy such as fever (OR=11.92, 95%CI 6.31 to 22.48, Plt;0.000 01) and hypocalcaemia (OR=8.82, 95%CI 1.61 to 48.36, P=0.01), significantly increased. Conclusion Compared with radiotherapy alone, zoledronic acid combined with radiotherapy can relieve bone metastatic pain, effectively enhance patients’ ability of movement, improve quality of life, and decrease new bone metastasis and the occurrence of bone-related events.