SynthesisPloS one2014
Effect of amifostine in head and neck cancer patients treated with radiotherapy: a systematic review and meta-analysis based on randomized controlled trials.
Synthesis in PloS one, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 55 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
55 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 146 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pharmacological interventions for preventing dry mouth and salivary gland dysfunction following radiotherapy.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2017Pooled it
- Botulinum Toxin (Dysport) to Prevent Radiation-Induced Dysfunction of Salivary Glands in Head and Neck Cancer.Cancer reports (Hoboken, N.J.) · 2026Trial
- Effects of different drugs on radiation-induced oral mucositis in patients with head and neck tumors: a systematic review and a network meta-analysis.Translational cancer research · 2026Article
- Metallofullerenol ScAdvanced healthcare materials · 2026Article
- Mitochondria-targeting organoselenium theranostic radioprotectors for simultaneous treatment and imaging of radiation-induced liver injury.Theranostics · 2026Article
- Melatonin may be an alternative to amifostine in salivary gland protection in irradiated rats.BMC oral health · 2025Article
- Gold nanoparticles as innovative therapeutics for oral mucositis: A review of current evidence.Drug delivery and translational research · 2025Review
- Ferroptosis: a double-edged sword that enhances radiation sensitivity and facilitates radiation-induced injury in tumors.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Review
- Melatonin in Chemo/Radiation Therapy; Implications for Normal Tissues Sparing and Tumor Suppression: An Updated Review.Current medicinal chemistry · 2025Review
- Preventive effects of melatonin and amifostine on irradiated rats with experimental periodontitis.BMC oral health · 2024Article
- A new approach to prevent radiation-induced xerostomia using intraglandular injection of mitochondria-boosting agents.BMC cancer · 2024Article
- A novel multifunctional radioprotective strategy using P7C3 as a countermeasure against ionizing radiation-induced bone loss.Bone research · 2023Article
- Total Skin Treatment with Helical Arc Radiotherapy.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
- A radiobiological perspective on radioresistance or/and radiosensitivity of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.Reports of practical oncology and radiotherapy : journal of Greatpoland Cancer Center in Poznan and Polish Society of Radiation Oncology · 2023Review
- WR1065 conjugated to thiol-PEG polymers as novel anticancer prodrugs: broad spectrum efficacy, synergism, and drug resistance reversal.Frontiers in oncology · 2023Article
- Noninvasive Systemic Modalities for Prevention of Head and Neck Radiation-Associated Soft Tissue Injury: A Narrative Review.Journal of reconstructive microsurgery · 2022Review
- Nuclear and Radiological Emergencies: Biological Effects, Countermeasures and Biodosimetry.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- Radioprotective effects and mechanism of HL-003 on radiation-induced salivary gland damage in mice.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- Assessment of cellular and molecular changes in the rat brain after gamma radiation and radioprotection by anisomycin.Journal of radiation research · 2021Article
- Radiation exposure induces cross-species temporal metabolic changes that are mitigated in mice by amifostine.Scientific reports · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAmifostine is the most clinical used chemical radioprotector, but its effect in patients treated with radiation is not consistent.
methodsBy searching Medline, CENTRAL, EMBASE, ASCO, ESMO, and CNKI databases, the published randomized controlled trials (RCTs) about the efficacy of amifostine in HNSCC patients treated with radiotherapy were collected. The pooled efficacy and side effects of this drug were calculated by RevMan software.
resultsSeventeen trials including a total of 1167 patients (604 and 563 each arm) were analyzed in the meta-analysis. The pooled data showed that the use of amifostine significantly reduce the risk of developing Grade 3-4 mucositis (relative risk [RR],0.72; 95% confidence interval [CI],0.54-0.95; p<0.00001), Grade 2-4 acute xerostomia (RR,0.70; 95%CI,0.52-0.96; p = 0.02), or late xerostomia (RR,0.60; 95%CI,0.49-0.74; p<0.00001) and Grade 3-4 dysphagia (RR,0.39; 95%CI,0.17-0.92; p = 0.03). However, subgroup analysis demonstrated that no statistically significant reduction of Grade 3-4 mucositis (RR,0.97; 95% CI,0.74-1.26; p = 0.80), Grade 2-4 acute xerostomia (RR,0.35; 95%CI,0.02-5.44; p = 0.45), or late xerostomia (RR,0.40; 95%CI,0.13-1.24; p = 0.11) and Grade 3-4 dysphagia (RR,0.23; 95%CI,0.01-4.78; p = 0.35) was observed in patients treated with concomitant chemoradiotherapy. Compared with placebo or observation, amifostine does not show tumor protective effect in complete response (RR,1.02; 95%CI,0.89-1.17; p = 0.76) and partial response (RR,0.90; 95%CI, 0.56-1.44; p = 0.66). For the hematologic side effect, no statistical difference of Grade 3-4 leucopenia (RR,0.60; 95%CI,0.35-1.05; p = 0.07), anemia (RR,0.80; 95%CI, 0.42-1.53; p = 0.50) and thrombocytopenia (RR,0.43; 95%CI,0.16-1.15; p = 0.09) were found between amifostine and control groups. The most common amifostine related side effects were nausea, emesis, hypotension and allergic with an average incidence rate (Grade 3-4) of 5%, 6%, 4% and 4% respectively.
conclusionThis systematic review showed that amifostine significantly reduce the serious mucositis, acute/late xerastomia and dysphagia without protection of the tumor in HNSCC patients treated with radiotherapy. And the toxicities of amifostine were generally acceptable.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.