Xiao-ai-ping injection (XAPI), as patented Chinese medicine, has shown promising outcomes in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. This meta-analysis investigated the efficacy and safety of XAPI in combination with platinum-based chemotherapy.
A comprehensive literature search was conducted to identify relevant studies in Pubmed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wangfang Database, VIP Database, and Chinese Biology Medical Database from the date of their inception to September 2018. The RevMan 5.3 software was applied to calculate the risk ratio (RR) and mean difference (MD) with 95% confidence interval (CI).
We included and analyzed 24 randomized controlled trials. The meta-analysis showed that XAPI adjunctive to platinum-based chemotherapy had better outcomes in objective tumor response rate (ORR) (RR: 1.27, 95% CI, 1.14-1.40); improved Karnofsky performance scores (KPS) (RR: 1.70, 95% CI, 1.48-1.95); reduction in occurrence of grade 3/4 leukopenia (RR: 0.49, 95% CI, 0.38-0.64), anemia (RR: 0.63, 95% CI, 0.46-0.87) and thrombocytopenia (RR: 0.53, 95% CI, 0.38-0.73), nausea and vomiting (RR: 0.57, 95% CI, 0.36-0.90); and enhanced immune function (CD8
Our meta-analyses demonstrated that XAPI in combination with platinum-based chemotherapy had a better tumor response, improved the quality of life, attenuated adverse side effects, and enhanced immune function, which suggests that it might be used for advanced NSCLC. Moreover, low dosage (< 60 ml/d) and long-term treatment of XAPI might be a choice for advanced NSCLC patients.

Xiao-ai-ping injection adjunct with platinum-based chemotherapy for advanced non-small-cell lung cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

This systematic review aimed to investigate the effects if probiotics can inhibit oral carcinogenesis.
PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and PLOS databases were searched up to February 2020 to identify randomised controlled trials that fulfilled the eligibility criteria. Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Critical Appraisal Tool was used for quality assessment of articles. This review was performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-analysis (PRISMA-P) 2015 protocol guidelines.
The initial search retrieved 774 articles. Of these, only five articles were included in the qualitative synthesis. Two out of the five papers were further analysed for quantitative synthesis in meta-analysis. The majority of the included studies were found to be of "moderate quality". The qualitative synthesis found four probiotics that exhibited potential therapeutic effects in oral carcinogenesis, includingAcetobacter syzygii, AJ2, Lactobacillus plantarum, and Lactobacillus salivarius REN. Among them, the application of L. salivarius REN resulted in a 95 % lower risk for developing oral cancer (p < 0.05).
It is known that probiotics have the potential to inhibit oral carcinogenesis, thus supporting the hypothesis of the study. The ability of L. salivarius REN to inhibit the development of oral cancer suggested that this bacterium can be a potential inhibitory agent against oral carcinogenesis.

Probiotic inhibits oral carcinogenesis: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

To assess the effectiveness and safety of Zao Ren An Shen (ZRAS), a Chinese herbal medicine formula, for the treatment of insomnia.
Seven databases (ie, EMBASE, PubMed, the Cochrane library, and PsycINFO, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang and Chongqing VIP) were searched from their inception to 6 November 2018. Controlled trials comparing the effectiveness or safety of ZRAS to conventional treatments, a placebo or no-treatment in an insomnia population were selected. Primary outcomes were: sleep quality (assessed with the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, PSQI), and the number of adverse events at post-treatment. The risk of bias was assessed with the Cochrane Collaboration's tool and meta-analyses were performed using RevMan 5.3.
A total of 19 studies (1780 participants) were included. The effect of ZRAS on sleep quality (mean difference) was found to be superior compared to placebo in the sole placebo-controlled study located [-0.90 (-1.56, -0.24; 95% CI), p = 0.007] and similar to Benzodiazepine Receptor Agonists (BzRAs) [0.17 (-0.29, 0.64); 95% CI, p = 0.46]. The number of adverse events (relative risk) was lower for ZRAS than BzRAs [0.16 (0.12, 0.23; 95% CI), p < 0.001]. An overall high risk of bias was found in the selected studies.
The results favor ZRAS against BzRAs and placebo for the treatment of insomnia. However, the poor methodology of the studies prevents strong recommendations for ZRAS. Clinical trials with higher quality designs are required.

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