TABLE III.
Characteristics of 117 studies included in the systematic review
| Characteristic | Value [n (%)] |
|---|---|
| Study population | |
| Adults | 117 (100) |
| Children | 0 |
| Cancer diagnosis | |
| Breast | 18 (15.4) |
| Lung | 11 (9.4) |
| Other single cancer type | 25 (21.4) |
| More than one cancer type | 63 (53.8) |
| Included HSCT recipients | 2 (1.7) |
| Timing of intervention | |
| During cancer treatment | 80 (68.4) |
| After treatment completion | 15 (12.8) |
| Both during and after treatment | 18 (15.4) |
| Not reported | 4 (3.4) |
| Palliative care setting only | 20 (17.1) |
| Required fatigue for eligibility | 28 (23.9) |
| Pharmaceutical company sponsor | 42 (35.9) |
| Duration of intervention | |
| <8 Weeks | 43 (36.8) |
| ≥8 Weeks | 57 (48.7) |
| Variable | 17 (14.5) |
| Intervention type | |
| Erythropoietins | 31 (26.5) |
| Stimulants | 19 (16.2) |
| L-Carnitine | 6 (5.1) |
| Corticosteroids | 5 (4.3) |
| Antidepressants | 5 (4.3) |
| Appetite stimulants | 3 (2.6) |
| Other agents | 48 (41.0) |
| Route of administration | |
| Oral | 67 (57.3) |
| Subcutaneous | 36 (30.8) |
| Intravenous | 13 (11.1) |
| Intramuscular | 1 (0.9) |
| Control group type | |
| Placebo | 75 (64.1) |
| Usual care | 26 (22.2) |
| Other pharmacologic | 16 (13.7) |
| Low risk of bias | |
| Adequate sequence generation | 68 (58.1) |
| Adequate allocation concealment | 41 (35.0) |
| Participants and personnel blinded | 44 (37.6) |
| Outcome assessors blinded | 55 (47.0) |
| Lack of attrition bias | 95 (81.2) |
| Free of selective reporting | 106 (90.6) |
HSCT = hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation.