What do systematic reviews say?

Induction chemotherapy plus locoregional treatment (radiotherapy and/or surgery) vs Locoregional treatment (radiotherapy and/or surgery) alone

Induction chemotherapy plus locoregional treatment (radiotherapy… showed no clear difference in overall survival, induction cisplatin + 5-fluorouracil + docetaxel… compared with locoregional treatment (radiotherapy and/or surgery) alone (low certainty).

• Interventions for the treatment of oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancer: chemotherapy 2021 · Cochrane All outcomes
  HR 1.08 [0.80, 1.44]
  3 studies · 760 participants
  Low

Induction chemotherapy plus locoregional treatment (radiotherapy and/or surgery) vs Locoregional treatment (radiotherapy and/or surgery) alone

Induction chemotherapy plus locoregional treatment (radiotherapy… led to lower locoregional control, induction cisplatin + 5-fluorouracil +… compared with locoregional treatment (radiotherapy and/or surgery) alone; GRADE not reported.

• Interventions for the treatment of oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancer: chemotherapy 2021 · Cochrane All outcomes
  RR 0.80 [0.64, 0.99]
  3 studies
  GRADE not reported

Induction chemotherapy plus locoregional treatment (radiotherapy and/or surgery) vs Locoregional treatment (radiotherapy and/or surgery) alone

Induction chemotherapy plus locoregional treatment (radiotherapy… showed no clear difference in overall survival, induction platinum + 5-fluorouracil prior to… compared with locoregional treatment (radiotherapy and/or surgery) alone (low certainty).

• Interventions for the treatment of oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancer: chemotherapy 2021 · Cochrane All outcomes
  HR 1.06 [0.71, 1.60]
  1 study · 198 participants
  Low

Induction chemotherapy plus locoregional treatment (radiotherapy and/or surgery) vs Locoregional treatment (radiotherapy and/or surgery) alone

Induction chemotherapy plus locoregional treatment (radiotherapy… showed no clear difference in overall survival, induction cisplatin + 5-fluorouracil prior to… compared with locoregional treatment (radiotherapy and/or surgery) alone (low certainty).

• Interventions for the treatment of oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancer: chemotherapy 2021 · Cochrane All outcomes
  HR 0.71 [0.37, 1.35]
  2 studies · 389 participants
  Low

PET-CT following chemoradiotherapy (neck dissection only if no/incomplete response) vs Planned neck dissection before or after chemoradiotherapy

• Interventions for the treatment of oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancers: surgical treatment 2023 · Cochrane All outcomes
  Recurrence: outcome not reported in a usable way (Mehanna 2017: nodal recurrence 3 vs 1; distant metastases 21 vs 23).
  1 study
  GRADE not reported

PET-CT following chemoradiotherapy (neck dissection only if no/incomplete response) vs Planned neck dissection before or after chemoradiotherapy

PET-CT following chemoradiotherapy (neck dissection only if… showed no clear difference in total mortality compared with planned neck dissection before or after chemoradiotherapy (moderate certainty).

• Interventions for the treatment of oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancers: surgical treatment 2023 · Cochrane All outcomes

  3 years
  HR 0.92 [0.65, 1.31]
  1 study · 564 participants
  Moderate

PET-CT following chemoradiotherapy (neck dissection only if no/incomplete response) vs Planned neck dissection before or after chemoradiotherapy

PET-CT following chemoradiotherapy (neck dissection only if… showed no clear difference in locoregional recurrence compared with planned neck dissection before or after chemoradiotherapy (moderate certainty).

• Interventions for the treatment of oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancers: surgical treatment 2023 · Cochrane All outcomes

  3 years
  HR 1.00 [0.94, 1.06]
  1 study · 564 participants
  Moderate

PET-CT following chemoradiotherapy (neck dissection only if no/incomplete response) vs Planned neck dissection before or after chemoradiotherapy

• Interventions for the treatment of oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancers: surgical treatment 2023 · Cochrane All outcomes
  Adverse events: 22 surgical complications in the PET-CT group vs 83 in the planned-surgery group (Mehanna 2017).
  1 study · 564 participants
  Very low

PET-CT following chemoradiotherapy (neck dissection only if no/incomplete response) vs Planned neck dissection before or after chemoradiotherapy

• Interventions for the treatment of oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancers: surgical treatment 2023 · Cochrane All outcomes
  Disease-free survival: outcome not reported in a usable way (Mehanna 2017: disease-specific and other-cause mortality did not differ, P=0.80 and 0.41).
  1 study
  GRADE not reported

Summary of findings table ‐ Postmastectomy radiotherapy (PMRT) vs no PMRT

Summary of findings table ‐ Postmastectomy radiotherapy (PMRT) may leads to lower local and regional recurrence (LRR) compared with no PMRT (low certainty).

• Post‐mastectomy radiotherapy for women with early breast cancer and one to three positive lymph nodes 2023 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  HR 0.2 [0.13, 0.33]
  1 study · 552 participants
  Low

Summary of findings table ‐ Postmastectomy radiotherapy (PMRT) vs no PMRT

Summary of findings table ‐ Postmastectomy radiotherapy (PMRT) probably leads to lower overall survival (OS) compared with no PMRT (moderate certainty).

• Post‐mastectomy radiotherapy for women with early breast cancer and one to three positive lymph nodes 2023 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  HR 0.76 [0.6, 0.97]
  1 study · 552 participants
  Moderate

Summary of findings table ‐ Postmastectomy radiotherapy (PMRT) vs no PMRT

• Post‐mastectomy radiotherapy for women with early breast cancer and one to three positive lymph nodes 2023 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  no estimate extracted
  0 studies · 0 participants
  GRADE not reported

Summary of findings table ‐ Postmastectomy radiotherapy (PMRT) vs no PMRT

• Post‐mastectomy radiotherapy for women with early breast cancer and one to three positive lymph nodes 2023 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  no estimate extracted
  0 studies · 0 participants
  GRADE not reported

Summary of findings table ‐ Postmastectomy radiotherapy (PMRT) vs no PMRT

• Post‐mastectomy radiotherapy for women with early breast cancer and one to three positive lymph nodes 2023 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  no estimate extracted
  0 studies · 0 participants
  GRADE not reported

Summary of findings table ‐ Postmastectomy radiotherapy (PMRT) vs no PMRT

• Post‐mastectomy radiotherapy for women with early breast cancer and one to three positive lymph nodes 2023 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  no estimate extracted
  0 studies · 0 participants
  GRADE not reported

Summary of findings table ‐ Postmastectomy radiotherapy (PMRT) vs no PMRT

• Post‐mastectomy radiotherapy for women with early breast cancer and one to three positive lymph nodes 2023 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  no estimate extracted
  0 studies · 0 participants
  GRADE not reported

EGFR monoclonal antibody (cetuximab or nimotuzumab) plus standard therapy (radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy) vs Standard therapy alone (radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy)

• Interventions for the treatment of oral and oropharyngeal cancers: targeted therapy and immunotherapy 2015 · Cochrane All outcomes

  24 to 70 months · Mucositis (all grades)
  Mucositis all grades: not estimable due to high heterogeneity (P=0.0009; I2=86%) between subgroups (cetuximab; nimotuzumab) and within cetuximab (I2=93%); 1417 participants, 3 studies. Table 3, row 1.6 (Ang 2014;…
  3 studies · 1417 participants
  GRADE not reported
• Interventions for the treatment of oral and oropharyngeal cancers: targeted therapy and immunotherapy 2015 · Cochrane All outcomes

  24 to 70 months · Skin toxicity/acneiform rash (cetuximab, all grades)
  RR 6.56 [5.35, 8.03]
  2 studies · 1311 participants
  GRADE not reported
• Interventions for the treatment of oral and oropharyngeal cancers: targeted therapy and immunotherapy 2015 · Cochrane All outcomes

  24 to 70 months · Xerostomia (grades >=3)
  RR 1.36 [0.80, 2.31]
  2 studies · 1311 participants
  GRADE not reported

EGFR monoclonal antibody (cetuximab or nimotuzumab) plus standard therapy (radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy) vs Standard therapy alone (radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy)

EGFR monoclonal antibody (cetuximab or nimotuzumab) plus standard… showed no clear difference in progression-free survival compared with standard therapy alone (radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy); GRADE not reported.

• Interventions for the treatment of oral and oropharyngeal cancers: targeted therapy and immunotherapy 2015 · Cochrane All outcomes

  24 to 70 months · Monoclonal antibody + chemoradiotherapy vs chemoradiotherapy alone
  HR 1.08 [0.89, 1.32]
  1 study · 891 participants
  GRADE not reported
• Interventions for the treatment of oral and oropharyngeal cancers: targeted therapy and immunotherapy 2015 · Cochrane All outcomes

  24 to 70 months · Monoclonal antibody + radiotherapy vs radiotherapy alone
  HR 0.70 [0.54, 0.91]
  1 study · 424 participants
  GRADE not reported

EGFR monoclonal antibody (cetuximab or nimotuzumab) plus standard therapy (radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy) vs Standard therapy alone (radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy)

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Interventions for the treatment of oral and oropharyngeal cancers: targeted therapy and immunotherapy 2015 · Cochrane All outcomes

  24 to 70 months
  No included studies addressed participant satisfaction (review-wide gap).
  0 studies
  No studies found

EGFR monoclonal antibody (cetuximab or nimotuzumab) plus standard therapy (radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy) vs Standard therapy alone (radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy)

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Interventions for the treatment of oral and oropharyngeal cancers: targeted therapy and immunotherapy 2015 · Cochrane All outcomes

  24 to 70 months
  No included studies addressed direct and indirect costs to participants and health services (review-wide gap).
  0 studies
  No studies found