Analysis of the efficacy and safety of iodine-125 seeds implantation in the treatment of patients with inoperable early-stage non-small cell lung cancer

PURPOSE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of iodine-125 ((125)I) seeds implantation for inoperable early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). MATERIAL AND METHODS: PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, China Biology Medicine disc (CBM), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and Wanfang Data were searched from inception until April 2020. Data were collected concerning overall survival, short-term efficacy, and complications. Meta-analysis was performed using R software (version 3.6.3). RESULTS: Nine studies involving 308 patients were included. Meta-analysis showed that the 1-, 2-, and 3-year survival rates were 0.98% (95% CI: 0.95-0.99%), 0.83% (95% CI: 0.77-0.89%), and 0.65% (95% CI: 0.55-0.75%), respectively; short-term local control rate (LCR) and effective rates were 0.99% (95% CI: 0.98-1.00%) and 0.92% (95% CI: 0.83-0.98%), respectively; 1-, 2-, and 3-year LCRs were 0.96% (95% CI: 0.83-1.00%), 0.94% (95% CI: 0.85-0.99%), and 0.95% (95% CI: 0.76-1.00%), respectively. Sub-group analysis of the prescribed dose found that when the prescribed dose was > 120 Gy, short-term efficacy and 1-year LCR were increased significantly (p < 0.01). The incidence of bleeding, pneumothorax, and radiation lung injury was 0.14% (95% CI: 0.07-0.21%), 0.19% (95% CI: 0.11-0.28%), and 0.00% (95% CI: 0.00-0.03%), respectively. Two studies involving 106 patients compared (125)I seeds combined with chemotherapy versus chemotherapy alone for NSCLC. Results showed that compared with chemotherapy alone, (125)I seeds combined with chemotherapy could improve short-term LCR (RR = 1.34, 95% CI: 1.09-1.65%, p = 0.005) and short-term effective rate (RR = 1.49, 95% CI: 1.14-1.96%, p = 0.004). CONCLUSIONS: (125)I seeds implantation is safe and effective approach for the treatment of inoperable early-stage NSCLC, but high-quality clinical research is still needed to further confirm the findings.