Lung cancer is a heterogeneous disease with multiple signaling pathways influencing tumor cell survival and proliferation, and it is likely that blocking only one of these pathways allows others to act as salvage or escape mechanisms for cancer cells. Whether combined inhibition therapy has greater anti-tumor activity than single inhibition therapy is a matter of debate. Hence, a meta-analysis comparing therapy inhibiting both VEGFR and EGFR signaling pathways with that inhibiting EGFR signaling pathway alone was performed.We searched PubMed, EMBASE database and the proceedings of major conferences for relevant clinical trials. Outcomes analyzed were objective tumor response rate (ORR), progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS) and toxicity. Besides, subgroup analyses were performed to investigate whether the combined inhibition therapy is best performed using combination of selective agents or a single agent with multiple targets. Six trials recruiting 3,302 patients were included in the analysis. Combined inhibition therapy was associated with a 3

作者：Xinji, Zhang；Yesheng, Li；Hui, Li；Yingyi, Qin；Chong, Bai；Feng, Xu；Tianyi, Zhu；Jinfang, Xu；Mengjie, Wu；Chaoxiang, Wang；Lixin, Wei；Jia, He

来源：PloS one 2012 年 7卷 8期