Research Information System
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MEDICAL TOXICOLOGY AND FORENSIC MEDICINE, vol.13, no.1, 2023 (ESCI, Scopus)
Objective: An anticancer and anti-inflammatory drug broadly applied to treat various diseases is Methotrexate (MTX). A variety of patients are more prone to toxicity, and a variety of them resist chemotherapy. The relationship between MTX-related toxicities and pharmacogenetics has been investigated by most studies, and there is not much data on the relationship between the type of toxicity and MTX dosage.Material and Methods: In this meta-analysis, 63 studies focusing on the association between MTX dosage and MTX-related toxicities were evaluated.Results: As shown in our pooled analysis, mucositis has a higher prevalence (P= 0.3, 95%CI (0.21, 0.4)) versus other toxicities, followed by hepatic toxicity (P= 0.25, 95%CI (0 0.18, 0.32)), and hematologic toxicity (P= 0.42, 95%CI (0.25, 0.6)); however, the lowest prevalence was in dermal toxicity (P= 0.17 [95%CI (0.07, 0.28)). According to the result, a significant prevalence was seen in different dosages in all toxicity (except the hematologic toxicity). Also, the 12 mg dose exhibited higher toxicity than other doses.Conclusions: One of the major leading treatment restrictions is MTX-related toxicities. Lower response to treatment, especially in pediatrics, accompanies this therapy interference. Treatment efficacy can be improved by understanding susceptible factors for developing adverse events and replacing MTX.