Transcatheter hepatic arterial chemoembolization combined with Kangai injection for hepatitis B virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma: A protocol for a PRISMA-compliant meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Kangai injection, a well-known insect-derived traditional Chinese medicine preparation, has been widely applied as a promising adjunctive drug for hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, its exact clinical efficacy and safety is still not well investigated. In this study, we aimed to summarize the efficacy and safety of Kangai injection for patients with HBV-related HCC through the meta-analysis. METHODS: All available randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and high-quality prospective cohort studies that investigated the efficacy and safety of Kangai injection for patients with HBV-related HCC were searched from ten electronic databases including Google Scholar, PubMed, Excerpt Medica Database (Embase), Cochrane Library, Medline, Web of Science (WOS), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), China Scientific Journal Database (CSJ) Chinese, Biomedical Literature Database (CBM) and Wanfang Database. Papers in Chinese or English published from January 2000 to September 2020 will be included without any restrictions. Study selection and data extraction will be performed independently by 2 researchers. The clinical outcomes including overall response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR), quality of life (QoL), clinical symptoms, virological indicators, immune function and adverse events, were systematically evaluated. Review Manager 5.3 and Stata 14.0 were used for data analysis, and the quality of the literatures was also evaluated. RESULTS: The results of this study will be published in a peer-reviewed journal, and provide a helpful evidence for clinicians to formulate the best postoperative adjuvant treatment strategy for HBV-related HCC patients. CONCLUSION: Our study will draw an objective conclusion of the efficacy of Kangai injection on curative effect (ORR and DCR), clinical symptoms, virological indicators, QoL, and immune function in patients with HBV-related HCC. INPLASY REGISTRATION NUMBER: INPLASY202090014.