Considering gemcitabine-based combination chemotherapy as a potential treatment for advanced oesophageal cancer: A meta-analysis of randomised trials

Background Gemcitabine has been proved to be effective in many advanced cancer. However, almost all trials failed to demonstrate the response rate of gemcitabine-based combination schedules on oesophageal cancer (EC). Methods A systematic meta-analysis of randomised clinical trials (RCTs) was performed to investigate the efficacy of gemcitabine-based combination chemotherapy in EC treatment. Clinical trials were collected during the period ranging from January 2000 to November 2018 by searching different databases. Odds-ratios (ORs) of response rate (RR), disease control rate (DCR) and grade 3-4 toxicity rates (TRs) were extracted as presented in retrieved studies. Results Fourteen trials (1024 patients) were selected for the final analysis. The results showed that RR and DCR of gemcitabine-based combination chemotherapy demonstrated a significant advantage for non-gemcitabine therapy (OR for RR: 1.51; 95% CI: 1.16-1.96; P = .002; OR for DCR: 1.66; 95% CI: 1.19-2.32, P = .003). Toxicities of gemcitabine-based combination chemotherapy on gastrointestinal tract (OR, 0.39; 95% CI: 0.24-0.63, P = .0001) were less frequent compared to that of the non-gemcitabine therapy. Conclusion The improvements of gemcitabine-based combination chemotherapy on RR, CDR and reduction of gastrointestinal tract, hepatic and renal for EC patients suggests that the combined chemotherapy based on gemcitabine could be a potential treatment options for advanced EC.