Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39213310›Full record

SynthesisPloS one2024

Postoperative radiotherapy for completely resected thymoma and thymic carcinoma: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Tianyu He, Jiacheng Yao, Jun Chen, Tingting Liu, Jun Dang

Abstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in PloS one, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Review
  4. Review
  5. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Tianyu HeDepartment of Radiation Oncology, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China.
Jiacheng YaoDepartment of Radiation Oncology, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China.
Jun ChenDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Shenyang Tenth People's Hospital, Shenyang, China.
Tingting LiuDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Anshan Cancer Hospital, Anshan, China.
Jun DangDepartment of Radiation Oncology, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China.ORCID 0000-0002-1408-4749

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe role of postoperative radiotherapy (PORT) after complete tumor resection in patients with thymoma or thymic carcinoma remains controversial. We performed a meta-analysis to identify groups that would benefit from PORT.

methodsMultiple scientific databases were systematically searched for studies comparing overall survival (OS) and/or disease-free survival (DFS) between PORT and surgery alone in patients with completely resected thymomas or thymic carcinomas until April 10, 2024. A random-effects model was used for the statistical analysis.

resultsA total of 31 studies with 10543 patients were included (17 studies involving 4763 patients with thymoma, seven studies involving 1045 patients with thymic carcinoma, and seven studies involving 4735 patients with mixed histological types). Notably, PORT significantly prolonged OS (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.73, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.59-0.91) and DFS (HR = 0.62, 95% CI: 0.43-0.89). Similar results were also observed when the multivariate-adjusted HRs were used as the measure of effect (OS: HR = 0.60, 95% CI: 0.43-0.83; DFS: HR = 0.48, 95% CI: 0.29-0.79). In subgroup analyses, PORT was associated with a longer OS and DFS for thymoma (HR = 0.73, 95% CI: 0.56-0.96 and HR = 0.65, 95% CI: 0.46-0.93), thymic carcinoma (HR = 0.72, 95% CI: 0.49-1.07 and HR = 0.38, 95% CI: 0.19-0.77), and stage 3-4 disease (HR = 0.50, 95% CI: 0.34-0.74 and HR = 0.44, 95% CI: 0.27-0.70), but not for stage 2 disease (HR = 0.81, 95% CI: 0.55-1.19 and HR = 0.97, 95% CI: 0.51-1.83).

conclusionsPORT is likely to improve OS and DFS in patients with completely resected stage 3-4 thymoma or thymic carcinoma; however, the value of PORT for stage 2 disease requires further evaluation in large-scale studies.

Indexed as

ThymomaThymus NeoplasmsDisease-Free SurvivalHumansRadiotherapy, Adjuvant

Identifiers

PMID39213310
PMCPMC11364254

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.