SynthesisBritish journal of cancer2020
A systematic review of meta-analyses assessing the validity of tumour response endpoints as surrogates for progression-free or overall survival in cancer.
Synthesis in British journal of cancer, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 37 papers, 10 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
37 citing papers in PubMed, 10 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 86 citations in OpenAlex.
- Risk-Benefit of Phase 2 Monotherapy Trials in Adult Solid Cancers: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.International journal of cancer · 2026Pooled it
- Can Response Outcomes Predict Survival in Paediatric Patients Receiving Treatment for Relapsed and Refractory Rhabdomyosarcoma? Results From the Living-REFoRMS Systematic Review.International journal of cancer · 2026Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Efficacy and safety of antibody-drug conjugate based therapy in locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma: a systematic review and network meta-analysis of emerging clinical evidence.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Pooled it
- Risk and Benefit for Basket Trials in Oncology: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Targeted oncology · 2025Pooled it
- Correlation between surrogate endpoints and overall survival in unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Scientific reports · 2024Pooled it
- Dexrazoxane for preventing or reducing cardiotoxicity in adults and children with cancer receiving anthracyclines.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2022Pooled it
- Overall Survival Benefits of Cancer Drugs Approved in China From 2005 to 2020.JAMA network open · 2022Pooled it
- Pooled it
- The Relationship Between Short-Term Surrogate Endpoint Indicators and mPFS and mOS in Clinical Trials of Malignant Tumors: A Case Study of Approved Molecular Targeted Drugs for Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer in China.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2022Pooled it
- Main factors associated with variability in the assessment of the objective response rate. A re-analysis of the PHEREXA phase 3 clinical trial.British journal of clinical pharmacology · 2026Trial
- Trial
- Response evaluation to systemic therapy in HCC: Current challenges and future perspectives.Hepatology (Baltimore, Md.) · 2026Review
- Development and validation of a radiomics-dosiomics model for predicting radiotherapy response in locally advanced, unresectable non-small cell lung cancer: a multi-center study.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Real-world progression-free survival 2 (PFS2) and tumor response of CDK4/6 inhibitors plus an aromatase inhibitor in patients with HR+/HER2- metastatic breast cancer in US routine clinical practice.Breast (Edinburgh, Scotland) · 2026Observational
- Challenges and Potential Solutions to Advance Global Cancer Drug Development.Therapeutic innovation & regulatory science · 2026Review
- Real-World Effectiveness and Safety of Pembrolizumab-Lenvatinib Versus Axitinib-Based Regimens in Metastatic Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma: A Multicenter Retrospective Study.International journal of urology : official journal of the Japanese Urological Association · 2026Article
- Rationale for incorporating short-term endpoints in interim futility analysis of phase 3 oncology trials: a simulation study.BMC medical research methodology · 2026Article
- Safety and efficacy of [European journal of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging · 2026Article
- Effectiveness of sacituzumab govitecan in metastatic triple-negative breast cancer: a real-world retrospective cohort study from Central Europe.The oncologist · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundTumour response endpoints, such as overall response rate (ORR) and complete response (CR), are increasingly used in cancer trials. However, the validity of response-based surrogates is unclear. This systematic review summarises meta-analyses assessing the association between response-based outcomes and overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS) or time-to-progression (TTP).
methodsFive databases were searched to March 2019. Meta-analyses reporting correlation or regression between response-based outcomes and OS, PFS or TTP were summarised.
resultsThe systematic review included 63 studies across 20 cancer types, most commonly non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), colorectal cancer (CRC) and breast cancer. The strength of association between ORR or CR and either PFS or OS varied widely between and within studies, with no clear pattern by cancer type. The association between ORR and OS appeared weaker and more variable than that between ORR and PFS, both for associations between absolute endpoints and associations between treatment effects.
conclusionsThis systematic review suggests that response-based endpoints, such as ORR and CR, may not be reliable surrogates for PFS or OS. Where it is necessary to use tumour response to predict treatment effects on survival outcomes, it is important to fully reflect all statistical uncertainty in the surrogate relationship.
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.