Figure 4

Analysis of heterogeneity. This figure shows the analysis of heterogeneity. A) Subgroup analysis of risk of grades 3 and 4 leucopenia according to the line of treatment, all heterogeneity found in the overall analysis was explained by between-group heterogeneity. This analysis indicates that previously untreated patients had a lower (although present) increased risk of developing severe leucopenia after R-C than refractory patients. B) Subgroup analysis of overall response according to he type of lymphoma, moderate and strong heterogeneity persisted after subgroup analysis in aggressive and indolent lymphomas subgroup respectively. In particular, very little difference is present between random-effect and fixed-effect model RR estimates in the aggressive subgroup while in the indolent subgroup, fixed-effect and random-effect models diverge more consistently. C) A simple meta-regression model to analyse risk of grade 3 and 4 granulocytopenia according to age is shown. The diameter of each circle is the inverse of its within-study variance. The graph shows that risk of granulocytopenia is inversely related to age, this may be due to the differential use of granulocyte stimulating factors between older and younger adults. RR = risk ratio, 95% CI = 95% confidence interval, I-V = inverse variance estimates; D+L = DerSimonian and Laird estimates.