Comparing two chemotherapeutic regimens VDC/IE (or VAC/IE) v/s VIDE for patients suffering with Ewing sarcoma: A systematic review on survivorship and regime difference across borders

<ns3:p>Background Ewing sarcoma is the second most common primary bone cancer in adolescents and young adults, with a poor prognosis. It is usually treated with a combination of treatment options, including but not limited to chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation therapy. In this systematic review, we focus on comparing two different chemotherapeutic regimens i.e., VDC/IE (vincristine, doxorubicin, and cyclophosphamide alternating with ifosfamide and etoposide) and VIDE (vincristine, ifosfamide, doxorubicin, and etoposide), for patients with Ewing Sarcoma, with Overall survival as the primary outcome and event-free survival as the secondary outcome. Methods MEDLINE, Embase (via Ovid), and Web of Science were searched methodically to identify studies which satisfied our inclusion and exclusion criteria. After obtaining the studies, deduplication was performed (manually and automatically). Once duplicates were removed, the studies were scanned against the inclusion and exclusion criteria predefined in the registered Prospero protocol. The process of screening was carried out in two phases: in the first stage, the Titles and Abstracts were scanned, and those which were included were scanned in the second stage of full-eligibility screening. The studies obtained were assessed for Risk of Bias using the JBI’s checklist. Results Post Risk of Bias Assessment, three studies were deemed suitable for inclusion. Through analysis of the data and text of these studies, we conclude that the VDC/IE regime yields better survival outcomes when compared to the VIDE regime, and hence should tentatively be used as standard of care for treating Ewing Sarcoma.</ns3:p>