Network Meta-Analysis of Adjuvant Chemotherapy Regimens for Early-Stage Breast Cancer

A network meta-analysis compares 36 randomized controlled trials involving 17,187 patients to evaluate the efficacy and safety of different adjuvant chemotherapy regimens for early-stage breast cancer. The analysis, conducted by Linxiaoxi Ma and published on figshare in 2026, assesses event-free survival, overall survival, and adverse effects from trials spanning up to 152 months of follow-up.

Use Cases

• Rank chemotherapy regimens by efficacy using Surface Under the Cumulative Ranking Curve (SUCRA) values for overall survival (OS) and event-free survival (EFS).
• Compare safety profiles of different dosing sequences by analyzing SUCRA rankings for specific Grade ≥3 adverse effects like nausea and neutropenia.
• Model hazard ratio (HR) estimates for survival outcomes across different patient cohorts from 36 trials.
• Evaluate the long-term effectiveness of treatments using follow-up duration data ranging from 22 to 152 months.

Strengths

• Analysis includes data from 17,187 patients across 36 randomized controlled trials.
• Long-term follow-up data with a median of 12.8 years provides insights into treatment durability.
• Primary endpoints are clearly defined as event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS) with hazard ratio estimates.

Limitations

• The dataset is small at 15.8 MB, consisting primarily of document and image files (DOCX, TIF), limiting direct computational analysis.
• Specific patient-level data or trial column structures are not provided, restricting granular modeling.
• Trial search concluded in May 2021, so it does not include the most recent clinical studies.

Provenance

Source

figshare, authored by Linxiaoxi Ma.

Collection Method

Systematic review and network meta-analysis conducted following PRISMA guidelines, searching public databases for Phase II and III trials.

Time Range

Trials from database inception to May 2021, with patient follow-up ranging from 22 to 152 months.

Freshness

Last updated in 2026, but underlying trial data is current only through May 2021.

Geography

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