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- Burdett, S., et al.
(author)
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Adjuvant chemotherapy for resected early-stage non-small cell lung cancer
- 2015
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In: Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. - 1469-493X. ; :3
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background To evaluate the effects of administering chemotherapy following surgery, or following surgery plus radiotherapy (known as adjuvant chemotherapy) in patients with early stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), we performed two systematic reviews andmeta-analyses of all randomised controlled trials using individual participant data. Results were first published in The Lancet in 2010. Objectives To compare, in terms of overall survival, time to locoregional recurrence, time to distant recurrence and recurrence-free survival: A. Surgery versus surgery plus adjuvant chemotherapy B. Surgery plus radiotherapy versus surgery plus radiotherapy plus adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with histologically diagnosed early stage NSCLC. (2) To investigate whether or not predefined patient subgroups benefit more or less from cisplatin-based chemotherapy in terms of survival. Search methods We supplemented MEDLINE and CANCERLIT searches (1995 to December 2013) with information from trial registers, hand-searching relevant meeting proceedings and by discussion with trialists and organisations. Selection criteria We included trials of a) surgery versus surgery plus adjuvant chemotherapy; and b) surgery plus radiotherapy versus surgery plus radiotherapy plus adjuvant chemotherapy, provided that they randomised NSCLC patients using a method which precluded prior knowledge of treatment assignment. Data collection and analysis We carried out a quantitative meta-analysis using updated information from individual participants from all randomised trials. Data from all patients were sought from those responsible for the trial. We obtained updated individual participant data (IPD) on survival, and date of last follow-up, as well as details of treatment allocated, date of randomisation, age, sex, histological cell type, stage, and performance status. To avoid potential bias, we requested information for all randomised patients, including those excluded from the investigators' original analyses. We conducted all analyses on intention-to-treat on the endpoint of survival. For trials using cisplatin-based regimens, we carried out subgroup analyses by age, sex, histological cell type, tumour stage, and performance status. Main results We identified 35 trials evaluating surgery plus adjuvant chemotherapy versus surgery alone. IPD were available for 26 of these trials and our analyses are based on 8447 participants (3323 deaths) in 34 trial comparisons. There was clear evidence of a benefit of adding chemotherapy after surgery (hazard ratio (HR)= 0.86, 95% confidence interval (CI)= 0.81 to 0.92, p< 0.0001), with an absolute increase in survival of 4% at five years. We identified 15 trials evaluating surgery plus radiotherapy plus chemotherapy versus surgery plus radiotherapy alone. IPD were available for 12 of these trials and our analyses are based on 2660 participants (1909 deaths) in 13 trial comparisons. There was also evidence of a benefit of adding chemotherapy to surgery plus radiotherapy (HR= 0.88, 95% CI= 0.81 to 0.97, p= 0.009). This represents an absolute improvement in survival of 4% at five years. For both meta-analyses, we found similar benefits for recurrence outcomes and there was little variation in effect according to the type of chemotherapy, other trial characteristics or patient subgroup. We did not undertake analysis of the effects of adjuvant chemotherapy on quality of life and adverse events. Quality of life information was not routinely collected during the trials, but where toxicity was assessed and mentioned in the publications, it was thought to be manageable. We considered the risk of bias in the included trials to be low. Authors' conclusions Results from 47 trial comparisons and 11,107 patients demonstrate the clear benefit of adjuvant chemotherapy for these patients, irrespective of whether chemotherapy was given in addition to surgery or surgery plus radiotherapy. This is the most up-to-date and complete systematic review and individual participant data (IPD) meta-analysis that has been carried out.
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- Staton, Tom, et al.
(author)
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Evaluating a trait-based approach to compare natural enemy and pest communities in agroforestry vs. arable systems
- 2021
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In: Ecological Applications. - : Wiley. - 1051-0761 .- 1939-5582. ; 31:4
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Diversified farming systems, for example those that incorporate agroforestry elements, have been proposed as a solution that could maintain and improve multiple ecosystem services. However, habitat diversification in and around arable fields has complex and inconsistent effects on invertebrate crop pests and their natural enemies. This hinders the development of policy recommendations to promote the adoption of such management strategies for the provision of natural pest control services. Here, for the first time we conducted a trait-based approach to investigate the effect of farming system on plant, invertebrate herbivore and invertebrate natural enemy communities. We then evaluated this approach by comparing the results to those generated using a traditional taxonomic approach. At each of three working farms, we sampled within an agroforestry field (a diverse farming system comprising alleys of arable crops separated by tree rows), and within a paired non-diversified area of the farm (arable control field). Each of 96 sample points was sampled between eight and ten times, yielding 393,318 invertebrate specimens from 344 taxonomic groups. Diet specialization or granivory, lack of a pupal stage, and wing traits in invertebrates, along with late flowering, short flowering duration, creeping habit and perenniality in plants, were traits more strongly associated with agroforestry crop alleys than the arable control fields. We hypothesize that this is a result of reduced habitat disturbance and increased habitat complexity in the agroforestry system. Taxonomic richness and diversity were higher in the agroforestry crop alleys compared to the arable control fields, but these effects were stronger at lower trophic levels. However, functional trait diversity of natural enemies was significantly higher in the agroforestry crop alleys than the arable control fields, suggesting an improved level of biocontrol, which was not detected by traditional diversity metrics. Of eight key pest taxa, three were significantly suppressed in the agroforestry system, whilst two were more abundant, compared to the arable control fields. Trait-based approaches can provide a better mechanistic understanding of farming system effects on pests and their natural enemies, therefore we recommend their application and testing in future studies of diversified farming systems.
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- Staton, Tom, et al.
(author)
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Niche complementarity drives increases in pollinator functional diversity in diversified agroforestry systems
- 2022
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In: Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment. - : Elsevier BV. - 1873-2305 .- 0167-8809. ; 336
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Rising demand for food production poses a major threat to biodiversity by placing competing pressures on land. Diversified farming systems are one widely promoted nature-based solution to this challenge, which aim to integrate biodiversity-based ecosystem services into agricultural production. The underlying theory behind this approach is that diverse communities enhance ecosystem service provision, although the evidence to support this theory is often inconsistent for reasons that are not always clear. Here we investigate the contribution of pollinators to ecosystem function in a model example of a diversified farming system, silvoarable agroforestry comprising apple trees intercropped within arable fields. We assess pollinator species richness, species diversity, and functional trait diversity, between agroforestry fields and paired monoculture arable controls, and within agroforestry fields at set distances from tree rows, to quantify their potential contributions to pollination service. Species richness and diversity, and functional richness and dispersion, of wild bees were found to be significantly higher in agroforestry systems, despite weak effects on mean trait values. No significant effects were found for hoverflies. Supplemental bee species found in agroforestry systems were shown to increase functional diversity primarily by enhancing niche complementarity, effectively filling in gaps in niche space for traits, which could be partly attributed to a higher abundance and diversity of floral resources in the associated understorey. Nationally rarer bee species also contributed substantially to functional richness but not consistently to functional dispersion, suggesting that while they provide a unique functional role, their contributions to ecosystem services remain limited by low local abundances. These mechanistic insights reveal how the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning can be influenced by farm management practices through their effect on the spatial and temporal availability of habitat resources.
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- Staton, Tom, et al.
(author)
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Productivity, biodiversity trade-offs, and farm income in an agroforestry versus an arable system
- 2022
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In: Ecological Economics. - : Elsevier BV. - 0921-8009. ; 191
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The uptake of diversified farming systems is constrained by a scarcity of evidence regarding financial costs, benefits, and risks. Here, we evaluate the productivity and projected farm income of an agroforestry system, where apples are integrated with arable crops, by combining primary data with ecosystem service and cost-benefit models. Our ecosystem service assessments included: 1) weed and pest associations with arable yields; 2) apple seed set as a proxy for pollination, and; 3) carbon sequestration. Arable yields were up to 11% lower in agroforestry than arable systems, and were significantly negatively associated with weed cover in both systems. Apple yields in agroforestry were similar to typical yields from comparable orchards. Apple seed set was significantly higher in agroforestry than conventional orchards for one of two varieties. Predicted gross mixed income was higher in agroforestry than arable systems in 15 of 18 productivity scenarios over 20 years, which was supported by a case-study. Apple yield and price were the major determinants of gross mixed income. Payments for carbon sequestration were predicted to contribute 47% to 88% of agroforestry establishment costs. This study demonstrates how a diversified farming system can improve farm income, but grant support would reduce the initial negative cash-flow.
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- Staton, Tom, et al.
(author)
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Evaluating the effects of integrating trees into temperate arable systems on pest control and pollination
- 2019
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In: Agricultural Systems. - : Elsevier BV. - 0308-521X. ; 176
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Agroforestry systems, which incorporate trees into agricultural land, could contribute to sustainable agricultural intensification as they have been shown to increase land productivity, biodiversity and some regulating ecosystem services. However, the effect of temperate agroforestry systems on pest control and pollination services has not been comprehensively reviewed, despite the importance of these services for sustainable intensification. We review and analyse the available evidence for silvoarable agroforestry systems, following which we propose a predictive framework for future research to explain the observed variation in results, based on ecological theory and evidence from analogous systems. Of the 12 studies included in our meta-analysis of natural enemies and pests, the observed increases in natural enemy abundance (+24%) and decreases in arthropod herbivore/pest abundance (−25%) in silvoarable systems were both significant, but molluscan pests were more abundant in silvoarable systems in the two available studies. Only three studies reported effects on pollinators, but all found higher abundance in silvoarable compared with arable systems. Measures of pest control or pollination service are scarce, but suggest stronger effect sizes. Our framework seeks to establish hypotheses for future research through an interpretation of our findings in the context of the wider literature, including landscape characteristics, silvoarable system design and management, system maturity, trophic interactions and experimental design. The findings of this study suggest that silvoarable systems can contribute to sustainable intensification by enhancing beneficial invertebrates and suppressing arthropod pests compared with arable, but future research should include measures of pest control and pollination and implications for productivity and economic value.
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