The comparisons of the efficacy and toxicity between gefitinib and docetaxel for patients with advanced nonsmall-cell lung cancer: A meta-analysis from randomized controlled clinical trials

Background: The extent of the benefit of gefitinib in the treatment of advanced nonsmall-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is till controversial, when compared with docetaxel. We performed this meta-analysis to compare the efficacy and toxicity of gefitinib with docetaxel for different patients with advanced NSCLC. Materials and Methods: We searched PubMed, Cochrane Library, and identified 5 randomized controlled clinical trials published within 2000-2013. After further full-text screening, 4 clinical trials were included in the final meta-analysis. Results: The outcomes of treatment efficacy included progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS) and objective response rate (ORR). Comparing gefitinib to docetaxel for advanced NSCLC patients, the pooled hazard ratio (HR) of PFS was 0.91, (95% confidential index [CI] = 0.83-0.99), the pooled HR of OS was 1.02, (95% CI = 0.93-1.13), the pooled risk ratio of ORR was 1.57, (95% CI = 1.01-2.47). Conclusions: Gefitinib was found to significantly improve patients' PFS and response rate compared with docetaxel. There is no difference of OS between gefitinib and docetaxel.