Objective To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of aromatase inhibitors in ovulation induction for women with unexplained infertility. Methods The databases such as CNKI (1994 to June 2011), WanFang Data (1982 to June 2011), PubMed (1966 to June 2011) and The Cochrane Library (Issue 6, 2011) were searched to collect randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and quasi-randomized controlled trials (quasi-RCTs) for the comparison between aromatase inhibitors (AIs) and clomiphene citrate (CC). The quality of the retrieved trials was critically appraised and meta-analyses were conducted using RevMan 5.0.1 software. Results Nine studies were included; all of them were published in English. The results of meta-analyses showed there were no significant differences between AIs and CC in the pregnancy rate (RR=1.02, 95%CI 0.71 to 1.47), miscarriage rate (RR=1.00 95%CI 0.61 to 1.63), multiple pregnancy rate (RD= –0.02, 95%CI –0.07 to 0.03), and incidence rate of adverse events (RD=0.00, 95%CI –0.01 to 0.01); there were still no significant differences between the AIs+gonadotropin (Gn) group and the CC+Gn group in the pregnancy rate (RR=0.98, 95%CI 0.68 to 1.42), miscarriage rate (RR=1.23, 95%CI 0.70 to 2.15), multiple pregnancy rate (RD=0.00, 95%CI –0.10 to 0.10), and incidence rate of adverse events (RD=0.00, 95%CI –0.10 to 0.01). Conclusion Whether aromatase inhibitors can replace clomiphene citrate in ovulation induction for women with unexplained infertility is still an issue that has to be identified by performing well-designed large scale RCTs with longer follow-up duration.
ObjectiveTo investigate the efficacy and safety of using tamoxifen sequential with the third generation aromatase inhibitors versus the third generation aromatase inhibitors or tamoxifen alone for postmenopausal hormone receptor-positive breast cancer patients.MethodsThe Cochrane Library (Issue 10, 2016), PubMed, EMbase, CNKI, and WanFang Data were searched to collect randomized controlled trials on using tamoxifen sequential with the third generation aromatase inhibitors versus the third generation aromatase inhibitors or tamoxifen alone for postmenopausal hormone receptor-positive breast cancer patients from inception to October, 2016. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data and assessed the risk of bias of included studies, then meta-analysis was performed by using RevMan 5.3 software.ResultsA total of 9 studies involving 22 005 patients were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that the sequential therapy group was superior to the tamoxifen monotherapy group on overall survival (HR=0.71, 95%CI 0.52 to 0.98, P=0.04) and recurrence-free survival (HR=0.60, 95%CI 0.46 to 0.79, P=0.000 3). However, no significant difference was found in overall survival and disease free survival between the sequential therapy group and the aromatase inhibitors monotherapy group. As to adverse events, compared with the tamoxifen monotherapy group, the sequential therapy group could reduce the incidence of endometrial hyperplasia (OR=0.22, 95%CI 0.11 to 0.45, P<0.000 01), death (OR=0.74, 95%CI 0.66 to 0.84, P<0.000 01) and metastasis (OR=0.79, 95%CI 0.68 to 0.91, P=0.001); however, the incidence of bone fracture was higher in sequential therapy group compared with intamoxifen monotherapy group (OR=1.31, 95%CI 1.13 to 1.51, P=0.000 3).ConclusionThe sequential therapy using tamoxifen and the third generation of aromatase inhibitors is better than tamoxifen monotherapy for postmenopausal hormone receptor-positive breast cancer patients. However, there is no significant difference in survival benefit between the sequential therapy and aromatase inhibitors monotherapy.
ObjectiveThe growth potential of children with short stature in middle and late adolescence may be limited by the effect of estrogen on epiphyseal closure. In recent years, the third generation of non-steroidal aromatase inhibitors (AIs) have been used in the treatment of short stature but with off-label. This study aimed to systematically review the efficacy and safety of the third-generation non-steroidal AIs in the treatment of children with short stature, and to provide evidences for rational drug use in clinical practice. MethodsWe searched PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, CNKI, WanFang Data, VIP and CBM from inception to December 28, 2022. Relevant studies on the treatment for children with short stature using the recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) combined with or without the third-generation non-steroidal AIs were collected. Two reviewers independently screened the literature, extracted data, and evaluated the risk of bias of the included studies. Meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.3 software. ResultsA total of 18 articles were finally included, involving 9 randomized controlled trials and 9 cohort studies, with a total of 1 053 patients. The Meta-analysis showed that: (1) in terms of efficacy, the final adult height (MD=2.48, 95%CI 2.02 to 2.94, P<0.01), predicted adult height (MD=4.27, 95%CI 2.71 to 5.83, P<0.01), predicted adult height difference (MD=4.26, 95%CI 3.23 to 5.28, P<0.01), bone age (MD=−0.62, 95%CI −0.89 to −0.36, P<0.01), bone age difference/actual age difference (MD=−0.47, 95%CI −0.56 to −0.37, P<0.01), and growth velocity (MD=1.34, 95%CI 0.89 to 1.78, P<0.01) at the end of treatment in the experimental group were better than those in the control group, but there was no statistical difference in the height at the end of treatment between the two groups (MD=4.03, 95%CI −0.01 to 8.06, P=0.05). (2) in terms of safety, the total incidence of adverse events in the experimental group (RR=2.10, 95%CI 1.48 to 2.99, P<0.01) was higher than that in the control group, among which the incidence of adverse events in the endocrine system and skin and subcutaneous tissue system was statistically different between the two groups (P<0.05), and the incidence of adverse events in the hepatobiliary system, kidney and urinary system, metabolism and nutrition, gastrointestinal system, musculoskeletal system, blood and lymph system, vascular and lymphatic system, and neuropsychiatric system was not statistically different between the two groups (P>0.05). ConclusionCurrent evidence shows that the third-generation non-steroidal AIs combined with rhGH can effectively improve the final height of children with short stature, but it may increase the incidence of adverse drug events. Limited by the quality and the follow-up period of the included studies, high-quality studies are still needed to demonstrate the above conclusions and further evaluate the long-term safety of AIs in children with short stature.