SynthesisHepatology international2025
Efficacy and safety of targeted therapy and immune checkpoint inhibitors in patients with advanced or metastatic biliary tract cancer: a meta-analysis of and sequential analysis of trials.
Synthesis in Hepatology international, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Refining meta-analyses in advanced biliary tract cancer.Hepatology international · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveThis study aimed to comprehensively evaluate the efficacy and safety of targeted therapy and immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in patients with advanced or metastatic biliary tract cancer (BTC).
methodsA comprehensive literature search was conducted in PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science databases through October 2024. The outcomes assessed included overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), objective response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR) and adverse events (AEs). Hazard ratios (HR) and risk ratios (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to quantify each outcome.
resultsFifteen studies met the inclusion criteria. Pooled analyses revealed that targeted and immune therapy significantly improved OS and PFS compared to control. Subgroup analyses identified significant OS benefits with PD-L1 inhibitors, IDH1 inhibitors, and PD-1 inhibitors. In contrast, anti-EGFR agents, MET inhibitors, and anti-VEGF agents did not significantly prolong OS. PFS was improved with IDH1 inhibitors, PD-L1 inhibitors, and PD-1 inhibitors, while anti-VEGF agents showed no significant PFS benefit. Targeted and immune therapy significantly improved ORR and DCR, as confirmed by trial sequential analysis (TSA). Incidences of all-grade, serious, and grade 3/4 AEs were comparable between the targeted and immune therapy and control groups. Meta-regression analysis revealed no significant influence of sample size, treatment duration, or publication year on OS and PFS outcomes.
conclusionThis meta-analysis demonstrates that targeted and immune therapy significantly improves survival outcomes and overall response in patients with advanced or metastatic BTC. Considering the potential limitations, further large-scale studies are warranted to validate these findings.
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Identifiers
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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.