Does delayed initiation of adjuvant chemotherapy following the curative resection affect the survival outcome of gastric cancer patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Issue 6 (June 2020) - Lu, Huiwen
Abstract: Background: Adjuvant chemotherapy(AC) following the curative resection could improve the survival outcome of advanced gastric cancer(GC) patients. However, there is no specific timing interval from radical surgery to initiation of AC. Whether delayed initiation of AC could affect the survival outcome of these patients remains unclear. In this study, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the relationship between delaying AC and the survival outcome of GC patients. Methods: PubMed, Embase and Cochrane Library databases were systematically searched for eligible studies that evaluated the relationship between time to AC and survival outcome. Survival data for HR and 95% CI were extracted and converted to a regression coefficient(β) corresponding to a continuous representation per 4-week delay of AC. Individual adjusted β were combined using a fixed-effects or random-effects model. Heterogeneity was assessed by I 2 statistic and publication bias was detected using standard error-based funnel plots. Results: A total of 11 eligible studies involving 6, 017 patients were included in this meta-analysis. Eight studies evaluated the impact of delaying AC on overall survival(OS) and five evaluated the impact of delaying AC on disease-free survival(DFS). The pooled results demonstrated that the initiation of AC per 4-week delay was associated with a significant decrease in OS(HR:1.05, 95% CI: 1.03–1.08, P < 0.001; I 2 = 18.5%) and DFS (HR:1.06, 95% CI: 1.02–1.10, P = 0.001; I 2 = 40.6%). Conclusion: The initiation of AC per 4-week delay was associated with worse survival outcomes in GC patients. If physical status and postoperative recovery were appropriated, GC patients should be recommended to receive adjuvant chemotherapy timely.