Table 1. Study characteristics of the eligible studies.
| Study | Year | Country | Recruitment period | Total patients (ITT) | Median age, range (years) | No. of gender (male/female) | Quality scale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skinner [17] | 1991 | USA | 1980–1988 | Control: 52 ACH: 50 |
Control: 62, 30–73 ACH: 61, 22–75 |
Control: 35/12 ACH: 34/10 |
6 |
| Studer [18] | 1994 | Switzerland | 1984–1989 | Control: 45 ACH: 46 |
Control: 61, 41–65 ACH: 64, 54–73 |
Control: 27/13 ACH: 30/7 |
6 |
| Freiha [9] | 1996 | USA | 1986–1993 | Control: 28 ACH: 27 |
Control: 64 (mean), 49–78 ACH: 59 (mean), 40–76 |
Control: 23/2 ACH: 22/3 |
6 |
| Bono [19] | 1997 | Italy | 1984–1987 | Control: 47 ACH: 43 |
NA | NA | 4 |
| Otto [20] | 2001 | Germany | 1993–1999 | Control: 53 ACH: 55 |
NA | NA | 4 |
| Lehmann [11] | 2005 | Germany | 1994–2000 | CM: 163 MVEC: 164 |
CM: 60.2 MVEC: 60.7 |
CM: 123/40 MVEC: 134/30 |
6 |
| Lehmann [12] | 2006 | Germany | 1987–1990 | Control: 23 ACH: 26 |
Control: 62.7 ACH: 58.8 |
Control: 19/4 ACH: 22/4 |
6 |
| Paz-Ares [21] | 2010 | Spain | 2000–2007 | Control: 74 ACH: 68 |
63 overall | NA | 5 |
| Stadler [13] | 2011 | USA | 1997–2006 | Control: 56 ACH: 58 |
NA | Control: 47/9 ACH: 51/7 |
5 |
| Cognetti [14] | 2012 | Italy | 2001–2007 | Control: 92 ACH: 102 |
Control: 63, 36–75 ACH: 64: 38–75 |
Control: 75/11 ACH: 90/7 |
6 |
| Sternberg [15] | 2015 | Europe and Canada | 2002–2008 | Control: 143 ACH: 141 |
Control: 61, 37–76 ACH: 61, 35–82 |
Control: 112/27 ACH: 114/27 |
6 |
ITT: intention-to-treat, ACH: adjuvant chemotherapy, CM: cisplatin and methotrexate, NA: not available, MVEC: methotrexate, vinblastine, epirubicin and cisplatin.