WITHDRAWN: Chemoimmunotherapy versus chemotherapy for metastatic malignant melanoma.

Background: Malignant melanoma, one of the most aggressive of all skin cancers, is increasing in incidence throughout the world. Surgery remains the cornerstone of curative treatment in earlier stages. Metastatic disease is incurable in most affected people, because melanoma does not respond to most systemic treatments.

Efficacy and safety of bevacizumab plus chemotherapy compared to chemotherapy alone in previously untreated advanced or metastatic colorectal cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the fourth most frequently diagnosed cancer and the second leading cause of neoplasm-related death in the United States. Several studies analyzed the efficacy of bevacizumab combined with different chemotherapy regimens consisting on drugs such as 5-FU, capecitabine, irinotecan and oxaliplatin. This systematic review aims to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of chemotherapy plus bevacizumab versus chemotherapy alone in patients with previously untreated advanced or metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC).

Colony-stimulating factors for chemotherapy-induced febrile neutropenia.

Background: Febrile neutropenia is a frequent adverse event experienced by people with cancer who are undergoing chemotherapy, and is a potentially life-threatening situation. The current treatment is supportive care plus antibiotics. Colony-stimulating factors (CSFs), such as granulocyte-CSF (G-CSF) and granulocyte-macrophage CSF (GM-CSF), are cytokines that stimulate and accelerate the production of one or more cell lines in the bone marrow.

Lapatinib plus chemotherapy or endocrine therapy (CET) versus CET alone in the treatment of HER-2-overexpressing locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer: systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: This paper reports a systematic review and meta-analysis of all randomized controlled trials comparing the efficacy of lapatinib plus chemotherapy or endocrine therapy (CET) versus CET alone in human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-overexpressing (HER-2+) locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer.

Methods: Several databases were searched, including MEDLINE, EMBASE, LILACS, and CENTRAL. The primary endpoints were progression-free survival and overall survival.

Bisphosphonates in multiple myeloma: a network meta-analysis.

Background: Bisphosphonates are specific inhibitors of osteoclastic activity and used in the treatment of patients with multiple myeloma (MM). While bisphosphonates are shown to be effective in reducing vertebral fractures and pain, their role in improving overall survival (OS) remains unclear. This is an update of a Cochrane review first published in 2002 and previously updated in 2010.

Antibiotic prophylaxis for transrectal prostate biopsy.

Background: Transrectal prostate biopsy (TRPB) is a well established procedure used to obtain tissue for the histological diagnosis of carcinoma of the prostate. Despite the fact that TRPB is generally considered a safe procedure, it may be accompanied by traumatic and infective complications, including asymptomatic bacteriuria (bacteria in the urine), urinary tract infection (UTI), transitory bacteremia (bacteria in the blood), fever episodes, and sepsis (pathogenic microorganisms or their toxins in the blood). Although infective complications after TRPB are well known, there is uncertainty about the necessity and effectiveness of routine prophylactic antibiotics and their adverse effects, as well as a clear lack of standardization.

Efficacy of palonosetron (PAL) compared to other serotonin inhibitors (5-HT3R) in preventing chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) in patients receiving moderately or highly emetogenic (MoHE) treatment: systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: The objective of this work is to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of all randomized controlled trials comparing a single intravenous dose of palonosetron (PAL) 0.25 mg with other 5-HT(3)R in patients receiving moderately or highly emetogenic (MoHE) chemotherapy.

Methods: Several databases were searched, including MEDLINE, EMBASE, LILACS, and CENTRAL.

Epidemiologic characteristics of renal cell carcinoma in Brazil.

Purpose: In Brazil, National data regarding the epidemiology of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) are scarce. The aim of this study was to describe the demographic, clinical, and pathologic characteristics of RCC diagnosed and treated by members of the SBU - Brazilian Society of Urology.

Materials And Methods: For this cross-sectional study, data were collected through an on line questionnaire available to the members of the Brazilian Society of Urology (SBU).

Bisphosphonates in multiple myeloma.

Background: Bisphosphonates are specific inhibitors of osteoclastic activity and are currently used as supportive therapy for multiple myeloma (MM). However, the exact clinical role of bisphosphonates in MM remains unclear.

Objectives: This update of the first review published in 2002.

Amifostine reduces side effects and improves complete response rate during radiotherapy: results of a meta-analysis.

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy of amifostine in diminishing radiotherapy side effects and whether or not it protects the tumor.

Methods And Materials: We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of 14 included randomized controlled trials, comprising 1451 patients, comparing the use of radiotherapy vs. radiotherapy plus amifostine for cancer treatment.

Colony-stimulating factors for chemotherapy-induced febrile neutropenia: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Purpose: Current treatment for febrile neutropenia (FN) includes hospitalization for evaluation, empiric broad-spectrum antibiotics, and other supportive care. Clinical trials have reported conflicting results when studying whether the colony-stimulating factors (CSFs) improve outcomes in patients with FN. This Cochrane Collaboration review was undertaken to further evaluate the safety and efficacy of the CSFs in patients with FN.

[Research].

This text presents a reflection on the chief steps involved in experimental execution, and approaches sequentially the following aspects: a) what is research?, b) why carry out a research?, c) how can a research be useful in the future?, d) what are the stages involved in a research?, and e) who should be considered authors of a research? Finally, this article mentions the importance of results analysis and the relevance of the obtained results to the community.

Searching the Literatura Latino Americana e do Caribe em Ciências da Saúde (LILACS) database improves systematic reviews.

Background: An unbiased systematic review (SR) should analyse as many articles as possible in order to provide the best evidence available. However, many SR use only databases with high English-language content as sources for articles. Literatura Latino Americana e do Caribe em Ciências da Saúde (LILACS) indexes 670 journals from the Latin American and Caribbean health literature but is seldom used in these SR.