Summary of findings 4. IFN‐α + acitretin compared to IFN‐α + PUVA for mycosis fungoides.
| IFN‐α + acitretin compared toIFN‐α + PUVA for mycosis fungoides | ||||||
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Patient or population: people with mycosis fungoides
Setting: tertiary care setting
Intervention: IFN‐α + acitretin
Comparison: IFN‐α + PUVA Number of trials included: 1 (Stadler 1998) | ||||||
| Outcomes | Anticipated absolute effects* (95% CI) | Relative effect (95% CI) | № of participants (studies) | Certainty of the evidence (GRADE) | Comments | |
| Risk with IFN‐α + PUVA | Risk with IFN‐α + acitretin | |||||
| Improvement of quality of life | ‐ | ‐ | ‐ | ‐ | ‐ | Not measured |
| Common adverse effects ‐ Flu‐like symptoms (Time point of measurement: up to 48 weeks or until complete response) |
Study population | RR 1.32 (0.92 to 1.88) | 82 (1 RCT) | ⊕⊕⊝⊝ Low a | ‐ | |
| 525 per 1000 | 693 per 1000 (483 to 987) | |||||
| Complete response (Time point of measurement: up to 48 weeks or until complete response) |
Study population | RR 0.54 (0.35 to 0.84) | 82 (1 RCT) | ⊕⊕⊝⊝ Low a | ‐ | |
| 700 per 1000 | 378 per 1000 (245 to 588) | |||||
| Objective response rate | ‐ | ‐ | ‐ | ‐ | ‐ | Not measured |
| *The risk in the intervention group (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; RR: Risk ratio | ||||||
| GRADE Working Group grades of evidence High certainty: we are very confident that the true effect lies close to that of the estimate of the effect. Moderate certainty: we are moderately confident in the effect estimate; the true effect is likely to be close to the estimate of the effect, but there is a possibility that it is substantially different. Low certainty: our confidence in the effect estimate is limited; the true effect may be substantially different from the estimate of the effect. Very low certainty: we have very little confidence in the effect estimate;the true effect is likely to be substantially different from the estimate of effect. | ||||||
a Downgraded by two levels to low‐certainty evidence. One level because of low internal validity (risk of bias ‐ high risk of attrition bias) and one level because of low sample size (imprecision)