The impacts of race and regimens on the efficacy and safety of paclitaxel and platinum combination treatment for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer

Paclitaxel-platinum chemotherapy is the first-line treatment for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. This study quantitatively evaluated the factors influencing the efficacy and safety of the paclitaxel-platinum regimen to provide the necessary reference for the development of clinical practice and clinical trials. A literature search was performed using public databases. The parametric survival function was used to analyze the overall survival (OS) time course of patients treated with the paclitaxel-platinum regimen. The random effects model in the single-arm meta-analysis was used to analyze the objective response rate (ORR) and the incidence of grade 3–4 adverse events (AEs) under the predefined subgroups according to race and the regimen. A total of 31 studies consisting of 3365 participants were included in the analysis. Race was the most important determinant of efficacy and safety in the paclitaxel-platinum regimen, with the median survival time and ORR in East Asians and non-East Asians being 12.2 months (95% CI: 10.5–14.4 months) and 37% (95% CI: 32–41%) and 8.4 months (95% CI: 6.5–11.0 months) and 28% (95% CI: 25–32%), respectively. The incidence of grade 3–4 AEs such as leukopenia and neutropenia was about three times higher in East Asians compared to non-East Asians. The efficacy and safety of the paclitaxel-platinum regimen can vary between East Asian and non-East Asian populations and between different treatment schedules. The results of this study can provide a reliable and precise external control for the future evaluation of new treatment options for advanced NSCLC.