The impact of complete chemotherapy stop on the overall survival of patients with advanced colorectal cancer in first-line setting: A meta-analysis of randomized trials.

Background. The impact of the duration of chemotherapy on the overall survival of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) is controversial and studies have failed to define a clear standard.Methods. We searched medical literature databases and oncology conferences proceedings for randomized controlled trials (RCT) that compared the overall survival of mCRC patients who received continuous first-line chemotherapy until disease progression versus those who were offered complete treatment stop after a fixed number of cycles. Studies including targeted agents were also included. A meta-analysis of reported hazard ratios (HRs) for survival was performed.Results. We retrieved 240 trials, of which six were eligible and five were included in the pooled analysis of overall survival (N = 3061). The overall survival between continuously delivered chemotherapy and complete stop was not statistically different (HR = 0.93, 95% CI 0.85–1.02; p = 0.12; I² = 5%). The results are similar when we analyzed separate...