High-grade bleeding is a serious adverse event associated with bevacizumab, a humanized monoclonal antibody targeting vascular endothelial growth factor and widely used in the current cancer treatments. The aim of this study was to gain a better understanding of the overall incidence and risk of high-grade bleeding in cancer patients who receive bevacizumab therapy.

Whether pemetrexed plus platinum (PP) regimen is superior to gemcitabine plus platinum (GP) regimen for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is unclear. The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of PP versus GP regimens for patients with NSCLC.

Many topical treatments for cutaneous warts exist and previous reviews of trials did not follow intention-to-treat (ITT) principles for analysis. We aimed to perform a meta-analysis and pooled analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of topical treatment for cutaneous warts using ITT principles. Systematic electronic searches (Cochrane library, Medline, Embase, Clinical trial registers) were conducted in May 2009. Included trials reported completed cure of warts and data were extracted from these trials. We performed random-effects meta-analysis and assessed heterogeneity using the I(2) statistic and conducted a pooled analysis of each treatment. We found 77 relevant studies of which the majority were of low methodological quality. Salicylic acid (SA) was superior to placebo with a risk ratio (RR) for cure of 1·60 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1·15-2·24]. Cryotherapy was not statistically better than placebo, RR 0·89 (95% CI 0·27-2·92), but aggressive cryotherapy was significantly better than gentle cryotherapy with a RR of 2·06 (95% 1·20-3·52). Combined therapy of SA and cryotherapy had a higher cure rate than either SA or cryotherapy alone. The results of the pooled analysis found a cure rate of 23% (5-73%) in placebo trials, 52% (0-87%) in SA trials, 49% (0-69%) in cryotherapy trials, 54% (45-75%) in aggressive cryotherapy trials and 58% (38-78%) in the combined cryotherapy and SA trials. Aside from the use of SA and aggressive cryotherapy there is insufficient evidence from RCTs to support the use of other therapies. Higher quality evidence is needed to evaluate other therapies.

Luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) agonists represent one of the main cost factors in the management of patients with metastatic prostate cancer. We compared the cost-effectiveness of the five different 3-month formulations of LHRH agonists currently available for advanced prostate cancer in Italy, because these differ both in their capacity to suppress testosterone and in their acquisition costs.

Bevacizumab is a treatment option in patients with metastatic breast cancer. Congestive heart failure (CHF) has been reported, although the overall incidence and relative risk (RR) of this complication remains unclear. We performed an up-to-date, comprehensive meta-analysis to determine the risk of serious CHF in patients with breast cancer receiving bevacizumab.

Vandetanib, an oral inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor and epidermal growth factor receptor signaling, has attracted wide interest in treatment of advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We aimed to assess its efficacy and safety via a systematic review and meta-analysis.

To assess the efficacy and safety of aprepitant for the prevention of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) after moderately or highly emetogenic chemotherapy.

Treatment of cancer is increasingly more effective but is associated with short and long term side effects. Oral side effects remain a major source of illness despite the use of a variety of agents to prevent them. One of these side effects is oral mucositis (mouth ulcers).

Bevacizumab, an anti vascular endothelial growth factor antibody is licensed in several tumours and widely used in colorectal cancer. However, bevacizumab has several adverse effects which may appear unexpectedly and differ according to the tumour.

To determine whether gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analog cotreatment with chemotherapy provides better reproductive outcomes for women at risk of premature ovarian failure (POF) as a side-effect of gonadotoxic chemotherapy.

Hormone therapy plus radiotherapy significantly decreases recurrences and mortality of patients affected by locally advanced prostate cancer. In order to determine if difference exists according to the hormonal treatment duration, a literature-based meta-analysis was performed.

Rituximab has been associated with hepatitis B virus reactivation (HBV-R). However, the characteristics and scope of this association remain largely undefined.

Dose-dense chemotherapy has become a mainstay regimen in the adjuvant setting for women with high-risk breast cancer. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of the existing data from randomized controlled trials regarding the efficacy and toxicity of the dose-dense chemotherapy approach in nonmetastatic breast cancer.

Cetuximab is often used in patients with colorectal cancer, head and neck cancer, and other cancers. Hypomagnesemia is a major adverse event that was often ignored in studies. The aim of this meta-analysis is to gain a better understanding of the overall incidence and risk of hypomagnesemia in patients who received cetuximab-based therapy.

To assess the efficacy and safety of first-line standard chemotherapy plus bevacizumab in metastatic colorectal cancer and to explore how to optimize therapeutic efficacy.

The role of the widely-used angiogenesis inhibitor bevacizumab in the development of serious hemorrhage is not well defined in cancer patients. This study was conducted to determine the overall risk of hemorrhage with bevacizumab by a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCT).

It is still controversial that GnRH agonist (GnRHa) protects ovarian function from chemotherapy-induced gonadotoxicity. Indeed, the results of many studies related to this issue are neither consistent nor convincing because of the weak study design and the inadequate sample size. We identified 11 prospective controlled studies (8 nonrandomized and 3 randomized) for the systemic review and meta-analysis. The meta-analysis showed that GnRHa cotreatment during chemotherapy can protect ovarian function. However, it is worthy to note that the result of this meta-analysis is influenced by nonrandomized studies. The protective effect of GnRHa will remain elusive until the currently ongoing large, prospective, randomized studies are completed. In addition, tamoxifen, a selective estrogen receptor modulator, may have the protective effect against loss of follicles and ovarian function, which was caused by chemotherapy.

We performed a meta-analysis on adverse events seen with bevacizumab to combine the existing evidence about its safety in patients with advanced cancer.

• To estimate the benefits and harms of 5-α-reductase inhibitors (5-α-RIs) in preventing prostate cancer.

We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to determine the impact of neutropenia or leukopenia experienced during chemotherapy on survival.