Amrubicin for relapsed small-cell lung cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis of 803 patients

Currently, amrubicin is permitted for relapsed small-cell lung carcinoma (SCLC) only in Japan. The efficacy and adverse effects of amrubicin as reported by previous studies varied greatly. The inclusion criterion was a prospective study that was able to provide data for efficacy and safety by the AMR single agent regimen as second-line chemotherapy for a patient with SCLC. Binary data were meta-analyzed with the random-model generic inverse variance method. We included nine articles consisted of 803 patients. The pooled three-, six- and nine-month progression-free survival were 63% (95% CI 57–69%, I2 = 53%), 28% (95% CI 21–35%, I2 = 71%) and 10% (95% CI 6–14%, I2 = 41%), respectively. The pooled six-, 12- and 18-month overall survival were 69% (95% CI 61–78%, I2 = 83%), 36% (95% CI 28–44%, I2 = 80%) and 15% (95% CI 8–21%, I2 = 81%), respectively. Amrubicin seemed much more beneficial for Japanese patients. However, compared to the efficacy of topotecan presented in a previous meta-analysis, amrubicin may be a better treatment option than topotecan for both Japanese and Euro-American. Adverse effects by amrubicin were almost exclusively observed to be hematological. Notably, grade III/IV neutropenia incidence was 70% and febrile neutropenia incidence was 12%.