Prognostic significance of inflammatory indices in hepatocellular carcinoma treated with transarterial chemoembolization: A systematic review and meta-analysis

ObjectivesTo investigate the association between inflammatory indices and clinical outcomes of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients treated with transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) by performing meta-analysis.MethodsA systematic literature search for relevant studies published up to August 2019 was performed by using PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, China National Knowledge Internet (CNKI) and Wanfang databases. Pooled hazard ratios (HR) or odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated.ResultsA total of 5280 patients from 22 studies were finally enrolled in the meta-analysis. The results demonstrated that elevated preoperative NLR, PLR, and CRP was associated with poor OS in HCC patients treated by TACE (HR = 1.81, P3 cm (OR = 2.42, P = 0.005).ConclusionsElevated preoperative NLR, PLR, and CRP are associated with poor prognosis in HCC patients treated with TACE. These inflammatory indices may be convenient, accessible, affordable and dependable biomarkers with prognostic potential for HCC patients treated by TACE.