Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40205599›Full record

ArticleSystematic reviews2025

Off-label use of sodium cantharidinate and vitamin B6 injection in cancer: a protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Wenzhen Jin, Yibin Zhang, Shu Pang, Dongdong Yao, Yiwen Huang

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Systematic reviews, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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.

Wenzhen JinScientific Affairs Department, Clinflash Healthcare Technology (Jiaxing) Co., Ltd, Room 813, 999 West Zhongshan Road, Huawen Plaza, Shanghai, 200051, People's Republic of China.
Yibin ZhangScientific Affairs Department, Clinflash Healthcare Technology (Jiaxing) Co., Ltd, Room 813, 999 West Zhongshan Road, Huawen Plaza, Shanghai, 200051, People's Republic of China.
Shu PangScientific Affairs Department, Clinflash Healthcare Technology (Jiaxing) Co., Ltd, Room 813, 999 West Zhongshan Road, Huawen Plaza, Shanghai, 200051, People's Republic of China.
Dongdong YaoScientific Affairs Department, Clinflash Healthcare Technology (Jiaxing) Co., Ltd, Room 813, 999 West Zhongshan Road, Huawen Plaza, Shanghai, 200051, People's Republic of China.
Yiwen HuangScientific Affairs Department, Clinflash Healthcare Technology (Jiaxing) Co., Ltd, Room 813, 999 West Zhongshan Road, Huawen Plaza, Shanghai, 200051, People's Republic of China. yiwen.huang2@clinflash.com.ORCID 0009-0008-2268-8199

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundIn China, sodium cantharidinate/vitamin B6 (SC/VB6) injection has been approved since 2002 for the treatment of lung cancer and primary liver cancer. In addition to these authorized indications, clinical application of SC/VB6 is also common in various other types of cancer. However, there is a lack of comprehensive understanding on this topic. Thus, this systematic review and meta-analysis aims to consolidate evidence regarding the efficacy and safety of off-label use of SC/VB6 in oncology.

methodsInternational databases including PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and CINAHL Plus, as well as Chinese databases including China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), and Wanfang, will be searched from the inception to 31 December 2024. Comparative studies that evaluated the add-on effect of SC/VB6 to conventional cancer treatments against the use of conventional treatments alone will be considered in the scope of this review. The primary outcomes are objective response rate and performance status. Secondary outcomes are disease control rate (DCR), progression-free survival (PFS), disease-free survival (DFS), overall survival (OS), and adverse events (AEs). Depending on heterogeneity, data will be synthesized using either the Mantel-Haenszel fixed-effect or the DerSimonian and Laird random-effect model. Subgroup analyses will be conducted for the following variables: type of cancer, study design, SC/VB6 dosage, treatment duration, and combined therapies, provided that each subgroup contains at least two studies. Sensitivity analyses will be performed on efficacy outcomes. The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) will be utilized to appraise the overall quality of evidence. DISCUSSION: This review will encompass both randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and cohort studies, thereby enabling us to synthesize and assess evidence across experimental and real-world observational settings. Our findings will contribute to a better understanding on the benefit-risk profile regarding the off-label use of SC/VB6 in oncology, guiding the trajectory of future research, and offering a robust scientific foundation to inform clinical and regulatory decision-making process. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO CRD42024504977.

Indexed as

CantharidinNeoplasmsOff-Label UseVitamin B 6HumansMeta-Analysis as TopicResearch DesignSystematic Reviews as TopicCantharidinVitamin B 6CancerMeta-analysisOff-label useSodium cantharidinate/vitamin B6Systematic review

Identifiers

PMID40205599
PMCPMC11984136

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

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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.