ArticleOncotarget2017
Can polysaccharide K improve therapeutic efficacy and safety in gastrointestinal cancer? a systematic review and network meta-analysis.
Article in Oncotarget, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 2 of them syntheses 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
10 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 15 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Coriolus (Trametes) versicolor mushroom to reduce adverse effects from chemotherapy or radiotherapy in people with colorectal cancer.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2022Pooled it
- Microbiome-Modulating Strategies in Anticancer Therapy: A Review of Current Evidence and Recommendations for Further Treatment Improvement.Probiotics and antimicrobial proteins · 2026Review
- Integrative Oncology for Biochemical Recurrence of Epithelial Ovarian Cancer.Current oncology reports · 2026Review
- The Inclusion of Dietary and Medicinal Mushrooms into Translational Oncology: Pros and Cons at the Molecular Level.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- The Health and Clinical Benefits of Medicinal Fungi.Advances in biochemical engineering/biotechnology · 2023Article
- Immunomodulatory function and anti-tumor mechanism of natural polysaccharides: A review.Frontiers in immunology · 2023Review
- Corrigendum: Immunomodulatory function and anti-tumor mechanism of natural polysaccharides: a review.Frontiers in immunology · 2023Article
- Research Progress on the Mechanisms of Polysaccharides against Gastric Cancer.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- A scoping review of network meta-analyses assessing the efficacy and safety of complementary and alternative medicine interventions.Systematic reviews · 2020Article
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 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo assess the comparative efficacy and safety of polysaccharide K (PSK), with or without chemotherapy, for patients with gastrointestinal cancer (GIC) through a systematic review and network meta-analysis. MATERIALS AND
methodsWe performed a network meta-analysis to identify evidence from randomized controlled trials. We searched PubMed, Embase and the Cochrane Library for publications up to May 2017. The prespecified primary efficacy outcomes were 1-7 year overall survival (OS), while the secondary efficacy outcomes were 1-7 year disease-free survival (DFS); we performed subgroup analyses and meta-regressions according to the cancer type (colorectal, esophagus and gastric cancer) and treatment arms (with or without chemotherapy). Safety outcomes were side effects of PSK. We conducted pairwise meta-analyses using a random-effects model and then performed random-effects network meta-analyses.
resultsA total of 23 trials were eligible, involving 10684 patients and 13 intervention arms. PSK treatment significantly increased 1-5 year OS and resulted in positive trends in 6-7 year OS; significant increases were also found in 1-7 year DFS, while no increase in side effects was observed. Significant efficacy outcomes obvious in colorectal and gastric cancer groups, as well as PSK combined with chemotherapy groups (iv, po, iv+po). Network meta-analysis revealed that PSK combined with chemotherapy was superior, with significantly increased 3-year and 5-year OS. The study is registered with PROSPERO (CRD42017065193).
conclusionsThe adjuvant immunochemotherapy agent PSK is effective and safe for patients with GIC. PSK combined with chemotherapy appears to be the preferred application of PSK.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.