Prognostic value of des-γ-carboxy prothrombin in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma treated with transarterial chemotherapy: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Serum des-γ-carboxy prothrombin (DCP) is a hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tumor marker that can be used to assess patient prognosis. Since the value of DCP in predicting the prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma patients treated with transarterial chemotherapy remains controversial, we performed a meta-analysis of previous clinical studies. METHODS: A systematic literature search was performed using PubMed, the MEDLINE database, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines. The hazard ratio (HR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was used to estimate the effect size. RESULTS: Six respective cohort studies including a total of 943 cases were identified. The pooled results showed that low DCP was associated with a favorable overall survival (OS)(HR 0.653, 95% CI 0.444–0.960), and DCP response was associated with increased OS (HR 0.387,95% CI 0.215–0.697) and progression-free survival (PFS) (HR 0.42,95% CI 0.23–0.74) in HCC patients treated with transarterial chemotherapy. CONCLUSIONS: DCP values in HCC patients undergoing hepatic arterial chemotherapy seem to be associated with OS and PFS. Thus, monitoring DCP values and observing the DCP response should be part of the management of patients undergoing transarterial chemotherapy.