The Antitumor Immunity and Tumor Responses of Chemotherapy with or without DC-CIK for Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer in China: A Meta-Analysis of 28 Randomized Controlled Trials

Table 3

Sensitivity analysis.

(a) Sensitivity analysis through rejecting the poor trials.

Indicators	Trials	SM	Effect estimate SMD (95% CI)	I^2	Rejected trials	Trials	SM	Effect estimate SMD (95% CI)	I^2
ORR	23	FEM	1.38 [1.24, 1.54]	0%	Poor [48, 60]	21	FEM	1.41 [1.26, 1.57]	0%
DCR	22	FEM	1.27 [1.20, 1.34]	15%	Poor [60]	21	FEM	1.27 [1.20, 1.34]	16%
CD3^+ T cells	23	REM	1.85 [1.39, 2.31]	94%	Poor [60, 66]	21	REM	1.93 [1.43, 2.44]	94%
CD4^+ T cells	23	REM	0.87 [0.65, 1.10]	81%	Poor [60, 66]	21	REM	0.91 [0.66, 1.15]	83%
CD8^+ T cells	26	REM	1.04 [0.58, 1.50]	96%	Poor [60, 66]	24	REM	1.02 [0.52, 1.51]	96%
NK cells	15	REM	1.51 [0.99, 2.03]	95%	Poor [60, 66]	13	REM	1.63 [1.01, 2.25]	95%
CIK cells	7	REM	3.87 [2.48, 5.25]	96%	Poor [66]	6	REM	4.33 [2.56, 6.11]	97%

(b) Sensitivity analysis through rejecting the over- or underestimated trials.

Indicators	Trials	SM	Effect estimate SMD (95% CI)	I^2	Rejected trials	Trials	SM	Effect estimate SMD (95% CI)	I^2
DCR	22	FEM	1.27 [1.20, 1.34]	15%	Over [52, 68]	20	FEM	1.25 [1.18, 1.32]	0%
CD3^+ T cells	23	REM	1.85 [1.39, 2.31]	94%	Over [31, 32, 42, 46, 49, 56–59, 61, 63–68]; under [53]	6	FEM	0.45 [0.27, 0.63]	43%
CD4^+ T cells	23	REM	0.87 [0.65, 1.10]	81%	Over [31, 52, 57, 67]	12	FEM	0.47 [0.35, 0.58]	16%
CD8^+ T cells	26	REM	1.04 [0.58, 1.50]	96%	Over [31, 47, 50, 56–58, 60, 64–67]; under [32, 33, 51, 52, 69]	10	FEM	0.22 [0.06, 0.38]	50%
CD4^+/CD8^+T cell ratio	15	REM	0.74 [0.30, 1.19]	92%	Over [46, 52, 55, 59, 68]; under [58, 63]	8	FEM	0.56 [0.38, 0.74]	34%
NK cells	15	REM	1.51 [0.99, 2.03]	95%	Over [51, 58, 65, 67, 68]; under [69]	9	FEM	0.74 [0.60, 0.87]	39%
CIK cells	7	REM	3.87 [2.48, 5.25]	96%	Over [58, 63]; under [54]	4	FEM	2.50 [2.19, 2.80]	35%
Treg cells	6	REM	−2.31 [−3.84, −0.79]	98%	Over [57, 62, 65]; under [60]	2	REM	−1.03 [−1.87, −0.20]	82%

Note: RR: risk ratios; SMD: standardized mean difference; FEM: fixed-effects model; REM: random-effects model; CI: confidence interval; NK cells: natural killer cells; CIK cells: cytokine-induced killer cells; Treg cells: regulatory T cells; poor: poor trials that had at least one domain considered as high risk of bias; over or under: over- or underestimated trials when the results had statistical difference and positive effects on publication bias or heterogeneity.