Efficacy of different plant extracts in the prevention of radiation dermatitis in radiotherapy patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma: A protocol for a Bayesian network meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Radiation dermatitis is a common complication in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) when treated with radiotherapy. Plant extracts have good effects on the prevention of radiation dermatitis in patients with NPC when treated with radiotherapy. However, there is insufficient comparison among the currently used plant extracts. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore the efficacy of different plant extracts in the prevention of radiation dermatitis in patients with NPC by Bayesian network meta-analysis. METHODS: We searched Chinese and English databases to collect all randomized controlled trials (RCT) of plant extracts for the prevention of radiation dermatitis in NPC patients who underwent radiotherapy up to October 2020. Two researchers then independently screened articles, extracted data and evaluated the quality selected literatures. All data were processed by Stata 14.0 and WinBUGS V.1.4.3. RESULTS: We applied Bayesian statistical model for network meta-analysis, ranked the effects of various plant extracts, and adopted GRADE method to explain the results. CONCLUSION: Our study is expected to provide high-quality evidence-based medicine advice for the prevention of radiation dermatitis in patients suffering from NPC undergoing radiotherapy. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethical approval was not required for this study. The systematic review will be published in a peer-reviewed journal, presented at conferences, and will be shared on social media platforms. This review would be disseminated in a peer-reviewed journal or conference presentations. OSF REGISTRATION NUMBER: DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/6SV45.