Does the age affect the efficacy of angiogenesis inhibitors in ovarian cancer? A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

H. Miao, C.-X. Miao, J. Han, N. Li

Department of Reproduction and Genetics, HePing Hospital Affiliated ChangZhi Medical College, Changzhi, ShanXi Province, China. congxiumiao@21cn.com

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• Oncology

OBJECTIVE: There are limited data on the role of angiogenesis inhibitors (AIs) in the treatment of elderly patients with ovarian cancer. We aim to assess the overall efficacy of AIs-containing regimens in the treatment of ovarian cancer in this patients group.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Databases and abstracts presented meetings up to November 2016 were searched to identify relevant studies. Prospective randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigating therapies with or without AIs in elderly patients with ovarian cancer were included in the present study. Statistical analyses were conducted by using Version 2 of the Comprehensive meta-analysis program.

RESULTS: A total of 1901 elderly patients with ovarian cancer from six RCTs were identified for analysis. The pooled results demonstrated that the use of AIs-containing regimens significantly improved PFS (HR 0.70, 95% CI: 0.63-0.78, p < 0.001) when compared to non-AIs-containing regimens, but not for OS (HR 1.07, 95% CI: 0.86-1.34, p = 0.54). Subgroup analyses favored greater benefit for PFS (HR 0.60, p < 0.001) in second line settings compared to first-line settings (HR 0.75, p < 0.001). No publication bias was detected by Begg’s and Egger’s tests for PFS.

CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this work suggest that the use of AIs in the treatment of elderly patients with ovarian cancer offers an improved PFS, but not for OS. Further studies are needed to clearly set the role of AIs in ovarian cancer in this patients group.

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