Procalcitonin-guided antibiotic treatment in patients with cancer: a patient-level meta-analysis from randomized controlled trials.

Background: Use of serum procalcitonin (PCT), an inflammatory biomarker for bacterial infections, has shown promising results for early stopping antibiotic treatment among patients with respiratory infections and sepsis. There is need for additional data regarding effectiveness and safety of this concept among patients with cancer.

Methods: Individual data of patients with a documented diagnosis of cancer and proven or suspected respiratory infection and/or sepsis were extracted from previous trials where adult patients were randomized to receive antibiotic treatment based on a PCT protocol or usual care (control group).