Traditional Chinese medicine for oral squamous cell carcinoma: A Bayesian network meta-analysis protocol

BACKGROUND: Traditional Chinese medicine is frequently used for malignant tumors in China, but in clinical practice, most practitioners choose appropriate Chinese medicines based on personal experience. In our study, Bayesian network meta-analysis will be used to identify differences in efficacy and safety between diverse traditional Chinese drugs for oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). METHODS: Relevant randomized controlled trials and prospective controlled clinical trials were searched from Medline, PubMed, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, Excerpt Medica Database, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, China Scientific Journal Database, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, and Wanfang Database from their establishment to September 2020. Study selection and data extraction will be performed independently by 2 researchers. Aggregate Data Drug Information System and R software were used for data synthesis. The evidentiary grade of the results will be also evaluated. RESULTS: The results of this study will be published in a peer-reviewed journal, and provide reliable evidence for different traditional Chinese drugs on OSCC. CONCLUSIONS: The findings will provide reference for evaluating the efficacy and safety of different traditional Chinese medicine for OSCC, and provide a helpful evidence for clinicians to formulate the best adjuvant treatment strategy for OSCC patients. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: INPLASY202090082.