C.-X. Liu’s scientific contributions

Objective: To assess the effectiveness and safety of erythropoietin (EPO) for cancer-related malignant anemia without radiotherapy or chemotherapy. Methods: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) or quasi-randomized controlled trials (quasi-RCTs) involving erythropoietin in the treatment of cancer-related malignant anemia were searched and identified from PubMed (1966 to Sept. 2009), EMBASE (1974 to Sept. 2009), The Cochrane Library (Issue 3, 2009), CBM (1978 to Sept. 2009), CNKI (1994 to Sept. 2009), VIP (1989 to Sept. 2009). We also handsearched relevant journals. Data were extracted and evaluated by two reviewers independently with specially designed extraction form. We evaluated the quality of the included studies by the Cochrane Handbook 5.0 recommend standard and analyzed data by Cochrane Collaboration's RevMan 5.0. Results: We included twelve trials. The quality of the included studies was poor. The grade of ten studies was B, and the grade of two studies was C. Meta-analyses showed that there were significant differences between erythropoietin and blank in volume of blood transfusion [SMD= -0.66, 95%CI (-1.14, -0.17), P=0.008], number need to transfusion [OR=0.60, 95%CI (0.39, 0.92), P=0.02], and the change of hemoglobin after two-week therapy [SMD=2.40, 95%CI (0.29, 4.52), P=0.03]. Conclusion: The current evidence shows that EPO significantly benefits cancer-related malignant anemia. Well-designed RCTs with a larger sample size, longer intervention and follow-up periods are still needed.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of bisphosphonates in treating patients with Multiple Myeloma. Methods: The databases including The Cochrane Library, PubMed, EMBASE, CBM, and CNKI were searched. Quality assessment and data extraction were conducted by two reviewers independently, and disagreement, if any, was resolved by discussion. Meta-analyses were performed for homogeneous studies. Results: Eleven RCTs were included, all of which came from abroad. The methodological quality of the included studies was good. The baseline data of each trial were comparable. Meta-analyses showed that, the pooled analysis of the published evidence demonstrated the beneficial effect of bisphosphonates on prevention of pathological vertebral fractures (OR=0.59, 95%CI 0.45 to 0.78, P=0.000 1) and on relieving pain (OR=0.59, 95%CI 0.46 to 0.76, P=0.000 05). However, the analysis of the effect of bisphosphonates on pain was based on clinically heterogeneous data which must be interpreted with caution. Meanwhile, there was no significant effect of bisphosphonates on mortality (OR=0.99, 95%CI 0.88 to 1.12, P=0.9) and hypercalcemia (OR=0.76, 95%CI 0.56 to 1.03, P=0.07). Conclusions: Adding bisphosphonates to the treatment of myeloma can reduce pathological vertebral fractures and pain, but is not helpful to mortality and hypercalcemia.