| Methods |
Multicentre RCT
2 arms
Quality score: B |
| Participants |
n = 199 participants with adenocarcinoma of the stomach or gastro‐oesophageal junction
Metastatic disease: 85%
ECOG 2‐3: 26% |
| Interventions |
ECF: epirubicin 50 mg/m² d 1, repeated at d 22; cisplatin 60 mg/m² d 1, repeated at d 22, 5‐FU CI 200 mg/m² d 1‐21, repeated at d 22
versus
FAMTX: methotrexate 1500 mg/m² d 1; 5‐FU 1500 mg/m² d 1; Lv 30 mg p.o. every 6 hours d 2, 3; adriamycin 30 mg/m² d 15, repeated at d 28 |
| Outcomes |
Median survival
Response rates
Toxicity
Quality of life |
| Notes |
The entire study included 274 participants with inoperable adenocarcinoma or undifferentiated carcinoma of the oesophagus, oesophagogastric junction or stomach. Results for participants with adenocarcinoma of the stomach or gastro‐oesophageal junction only were provided by the corresponding author and included in the meta‐analysis. |
| Risk of bias |
| Bias |
Authors' judgement |
Support for judgement |
| Random sequence generation (selection bias) |
Unclear risk |
Query to first author was not answered |
| Allocation concealment (selection bias) |
Unclear risk |
Query to first author was not answered |
| Incomplete outcome data (attrition bias)
efficacy |
Low risk |
ITT per correspondence |
| Incomplete outcome data (attrition bias)
safety |
Low risk |
ITT per correspondence |
| Selective reporting (reporting bias) |
Low risk |
Report includes all expected outcomes |
| Other bias |
Unclear risk |
N/A |
| Blinded review of CT/MRI‐scans? |
High risk |
Not done according to correspondence |
