Effect of Aidi injection plus chemotherapy on gastric carcinoma: a Meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

ObjectiveTo conduct a Meta-analysis of studies on the effect of Aidi injectioncombined with chemotherapy versus chemotherapy alone in the treatment of gastric cancer (GC).MethodsNine electronic databases and six gray literature databases were comprehensively searcheduntil April 20, 2013. Two reviewers independently selected and assessed included trialsaccording to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The risk of bias tool from the Cochrane Handbook version 5.1.0 was used to assess trial quality. All calculations were performed using Review Manager 5.0.ResultsThirty-two studies including 1927 participants met the inclusion criteria, most of which were low quality. Compared with chemotherapy alone, Aidi injection plusthe same chemotherapy significantly improved the effective rate [OR = 1.52, 95% CI (1.24, 1.86), P < 0.0001], clinical beneficial rate [OR = 1.77, 95% CI (1.33, 2.36), P < 0.0001], and quality of life [OR = 3.02, 95% CI (2.39, 3.82), P < 0.000 01]. There was a significant improvement in nausea and vomiting incidence [OR = 0.34, 95% CI (0.24, 0.47), P < 0.000 01], diarrhea [OR = 0.47, 95% CI (0.33, 0.69), P < 0.000 01], leukopenia (III-IV) [OR = 0.34, 95% CI (0.23, 0.51), P = 0.05], hemoglobin decrease (III-IV) [OR = 0.42, 95% CI (0.18–1.00), P = 0.05], thrombocytopenia (III-IV) [OR = 0.46, 95% CI (0.22, 0.96), P = 0.04], and damage to liver function [OR = 0.36, 95%CI (0.24, 0.54), P < 0.000 01].ConclusionAidi injection combined with chemotherapy significantly improved the clinical effect of chemotherapy, reducing the incidence of adverse events. Use of the CONSORT statement for randomized controlled trials is recommended for stricter reporting.