HAART + paclitaxel compared to HAART + PLD for the treatment of severe Kaposi's sarcoma in HIV-infected adults (Cianfrocca 2010) – RCT

Patient or population: HIV-infected adults with severe (T1) Kaposi's sarcoma

Settings: USA

Intervention: HAART + paclitaxel

Comparison: HAART + PLD

Outcomes	Illustrative comparative risks* (95% CI)		Relative effect (95% CI)	No. of participants (studies)	Quality of the evidence (GRADE)	Comments
	Assumed risk	Corresponding risk
	HAART + PLD	HAART + paclitaxel
Progression of Kaposi's sarcoma	40 per 1000	42 per 1000 (3 to 629)	RR 1.04 (0.07 to 15.73)	49 (1 study)	⊕⊕⊕◯ moderate1
Clinical response - complete response	40 per 1000	83 per 1000 (8 to 860)	RR 2.08 (0.2 to 21.5)	49 (1 study)	⊕⊕⊕◯ moderate1
Clinical response - partial response	360 per 1000	374 per 1000 (180 to 781)	RR 1.04 (0.5 to 2.17)	49 (1 study)	⊕⊕⊕◯ moderate1
Clinical response - stable disease	400 per 1000	248 per 1000 (108 to 580)	RR 0.63 (0.27 to 1.45)	49 (1 study)	⊕⊕⊕◯ moderate1

^*The basis for the assumed risk (e.g. the median control group risk across studies) is provided in footnotes. The corresponding risk (and its 95% confidence interval) is based on the assumed risk in the comparison group and the relative effect of the intervention (and its 95% CI).

CI: confidence interval; HAART: highly active antiretroviral therapy; PLD: pegylated liposomal doxorubicin; RCT: randomised controlled trial; RR: risk ratio

GRADE Working Group grades of evidence

High quality: Further research is very unlikely to change our confidence in the estimate of effect.

Moderate quality: Further research is likely to have an important impact on our confidence in the estimate of effect and may change the estimate.

Low quality: Further research is very likely to have an important impact on our confidence in the estimate of effect and is likely to change the estimate.

Very low quality: We are very uncertain about the estimate.

¹There were very few events with very wide confidence intervals.