Does adjuvant hepatic artery infusion chemotherapy improve patient outcomes for hepatocellular carcinoma following liver resection? A meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Adjuvant hepatic artery infusion chemotherapy (HAIC) has been shown to be beneficial to the patient outcomes in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). METHODS: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and non-RCTs were identified from six databases up to January 26, 2023. Patient outcomes were assessed using overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS). Data were presented as hazard ratios (HR, 95% confidence intervals, or CIs). RESULTS: The present systematic review included 2 RCTs and 9 non-RCTs with a total of 1290 cases. Adjuvant HAIC improved OS (HR of 0.69; 95% CI of 0.56–0.84; p < 0.01) and DFS (HR of 0.64; 95% CI of 0.49–0.83; p < 0.01). Subgroup analysis showed that HCC patients with portal vein invasion (PVI) or microvascular invasion (MVI) benefit from adjuvant HAIC in terms of OS ((HR of 0.43; 95% CI of 0.19–0.95; p < 0.01) and (HR of 0.43; 95% CI of 0.19–0.95; p = 0.0373), respectively) and DFS ((HR of 0.38; 95% CI of 0.21–0.69; p < 0.01) and (HR of 0.73; 95% CI of 0.60–0.88; p = 0.0125), respectively). Adjuvant HAIC with the oxaliplatin-based approach significantly improved OS (HR of 0.60; 95% CI of 0.36–0.84; p = 0.02) and (HR of 0.59; 95% CI of 0.43–0.75; p < 0.01), respectively). CONCLUSION: This meta-analysis demonstrated that postoperative adjuvant HAIC was beneficial in HCC patients with PVI and MVI. It remains unclear whether HAIC can improve the survival outcome in all HCC patients after hepatic resection. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12957-023-03000-1