Efficacy of therapies targeting TGF-β in solid tumors: a systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials

Abstract

Aims: A comprehensive meta-analysis was conducted to explore the efficacy of TGF-β blockade therapies in solid tumors. Patients & methods: Results of overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), time to progression (TTP) and overall response rate (ORR) with their 95% CI were calculated. Also, subgroup analyses were conducted according to the categories of TGF-β blocker alone or combined with chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Results: Overall OS, PFS, TTP and ORR were 10.5 months (95% CI: 7.76–13.25), 2.54 months (95% CI: 1.66–3.43), 4.69 months (95% CI: 3.18–6.21) and 0.83% (95% CI: 0.82–0.85), respectively. Conclusion: Collectively, TGF-β blockade combined with chemotherapy or radiotherapy showed more favorable clinical outcomes than monotherapy using TGF-β blockade.