Transcatheter arterial chemoembolization plus sorafenib versus transcatheter arterial chemoembolization alone to treat advanced hepatocellular carcinoma: a meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Many studies have combined sorafenib with transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) to treat patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but the results are disputable. Thus, we conducted this meta-analysis to assess the efficacy and safety of the combination treatment in patients with advanced HCC. METHODS: Clinical data were collected from a computer search of literature published from January 2009 to June 2016 in PubMed, Web of Science, the Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wan Fang and the China Science and Technology Journal Database (CSTJ). The final analysis included 14 studies and 1670 patients. The primary endpoints were overall survival (OS), the objective response rate (ORR) and the disease control rate (DCR). RESULTS: The combination group exhibited significantly more improvement than the group treated with TACE alone in ORR (RR =1.62, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.34–1.94, p < 0.00001), DCR (RR = 1.43, 95% CI = 1.26–1.62, p < 0.00001), 0.5-year OS (OR = 2.60, 95% CI = 1.57–4.29, p = 0.0002) and 1-year OS (OR = 1.88, 95% CI =1.39–2.53, p < 0.0001). The incidence of adverse events from combination therapy was increased compared to that from treatment with TACE alone, and the most commonly reported adverse events were fatigue, hand-foot skin reaction and diarrhoea, which were bearable. CONCLUSIONS: The meta-analysis indicated that combination therapy is safe and efficient for clinical application.