Background. According to relevant clinical research, dietary and circulating antioxidants vitamin A are connected with the risk of breast, cervical, and cancer women. However, there was inconsistency between the findings. We completed this meta-analysis at the right moment to address this contradiction of the problem. Methods. Web of Science, Embase, and PubMed databases were searched using the proposed search strategy and filtered using the inclusion and exclusion criteria as well as the NOS quality score. As of May 2022, low intake or low concentration was used as a control, and odds ratio (OR) or relative risk (RR) and ninety-five percent confidence intervals (95% CI) were extracted for high intake. Stata 12.0 was used to process the data. Results. Our meta-analysis included a total of 49 studies, 29 on breast cancer, 10 on ovarian cancer, and 10 on cervical cancer. There were 38 case-control studies included, with 25,363 cases and 42,281 controls; there were 11 cohort studies included, 1,334,176 individuals were followed up, and finally 9496 obtained cancer. The pooled OR value results were as follows: diet or supplements (OR=0.83, 95% CI 0.76-0.90, I2=56.1%) and serum or plasma (OR=0.96, 95% CI 0.86-1.09, I2=29.5%). Subgroup analyses were performed according to cancer type, diet or supplements, serum or plasma, study type, and geographic regions. Conclusions. In North American and Asian populations, high dietary consumption of vitamin A or supplements decreases the incidence of three cancers in women, with breast and ovarian cancers being more significant. However, high circulating vitamin A concentrations were not significantly connected with the risk of the three malignancies.

BACKGROUND In recent years, intraoperative radiotherapy (IORT) has been increasingly used for the treatment of rectal cancer. However, the efficacy and safety of IORT for the treatment of rectal cancer are still controversial. AIM To evaluate the value of IORT for patients with rectal cancer. METHODS We searched PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science databases, and conference abstracts and included randomized controlled trials and observational studies on IORT vs non-IORT for rectal cancer. Dichotomous variables were evaluated by odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI), hazard ratio (HR) and 95%CI was used as a summary statistic of survival outcomes. Statistical analyses were performed using Stata V.15.0 and Review Manager 5.3 software. RESULTS In this study, 3 randomized controlled studies and 12 observational studies were included with a total of 1460 patients, who are mainly residents of Europe, the United States, and Asia. Our results did not show significant differences in 5-year overall survival (HR = 0.80, 95%CI = 0.60-1.06; P = 0.126); 5-year disease-free survival (HR = 0.94, 95%CI = 0.73-1.22; P = 0.650); abscess (OR = 1.10, 95%CI = 0.67-1.80; P = 0.713), fistulae (OR = 0.79, 95%CI = 0.33-1.89; P = 0.600); wound complication (OR = 1.21, 95%CI = 0.62-2.36; P = 0.575); anastomotic leakage (OR = 1.09, 95%CI = 0.59-2.02; P = 0.775); and neurogenic bladder dysfunction (OR = 0.69, 95%CI = 0.31-1.55; P = 0.369). However, the meta-analysis of 5-year local control was significantly different (OR = 3.07, 95%CI = 1.66-5.66; P = 0.000). CONCLUSION The advantage of IORT is mainly reflected in 5-year local control, but it is not statistically significant for 5-year overall survival, 5-year disease-free survival, and complications.

Lateral lymph node metastasis in rectal cancer was first reported in the 1950s, since then, there has been an on-going debate about the value of lateral lymph node dis (LLND) in the management of rectal cancer. We carried out a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the value of LLND for the patients with rectal cancer. To collect clinical studies for the comparison of LLND and non-LLND in patients with rectal cancer, PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases were searched from inception to 2019. A total of 26 studies, including 6865 patients were enrolled. Data processing and statistical analyses were performed using Stata V.15.0 software and Review Manager 5.3 software. Outcome measures included the 5-year survival rate, recurrence rate, perioperative outcomes, urinary function, and male sexual function. Regarding efficacy, our meta-analysis results showed no difference in 5-year disease-free survival rate and local recurrences between the two groups, the Hazard Ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) was 1.07 and 0.89 to 1.28 (P = 0.496), and the Odds Ratio(OR) and 95% CI were 0.90 and 0.76 to 1.06 (P = 0.208), respectively. Concerning safety, the incidence of urinary dysfunction and male sexual dysfunction was significantly increased in the LLND group (OR = 2.14, 95%CI = 1.21-3.79, P = 0.009), and (OR = 4.19, 95%CI = 1.55-11.33, P = 0.005), respectively. In conclusion, LLND did not improve the long-term prognosis of patients with rectal cancer, and was associated with increased urinary dysfunction and male sexual dysfunction.