Objectives To evaluate the clinical effectiveness and safety of combined induction therapy of interferon (IFN) with chemotherapy for survival of the patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) by meta-analysis. Methods All clinical trials of addition of IFN plus chemotherapy versus chemotherapy alone for induction therapy to advanced NSCLC patients in MEDLINE (1966-2006), EMBASE (1984-2006.1) and The Cochrane Library (Issue 1,2006) were identified. The references of related studies and Education Books of ASCO and ESMO meeting were handsearched. The quality of included trials was evaluated. Data were extracted by two reviewers independently with a designed extraction form. RevMan 4.2.7 software was used for data analysis. Results Five randomized controlled trials involving 360 patients were included. The pooled result of 3 studies showed that IFN plus chemotherapy induction treatment did not improve 1-year survival rate with RR 0.76, 95%CI 0.46 to 1.26. The pooled result of 5 studies showed that IFN plus chemotherapy induction treatment did not improve response rate with RR 1.40, (0.83 2.34). The pooled result showed that IFN plus chemotherapy induction treatment might significantly increase leukopenia and thrombocytopenia with RR 2.61,95%CI1.70 to 3.99) and RR 4.78,95%CI 1.87 to 12.19 respectively . Conclusion Insufficient data exists to state whether IFN plus chemotherapy induction treatment can improve 1-year survival rate and response rate. IFN plus chemotherapy may increase occurrence of leucopenia and thrombocytopenia. Further studies are warranted.
