Effectiveness and safety of adjunctive traditional Chinese medicine therapy for primary liver cancer patients: A protocol for systematic review and meta analysis

BACKGROUND: Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has gradually drawn the attention of clinicians as an alternative for Primary Liver Cancer (PLC), is based on the theory of syndrome differentiation. However, owing to the lack of evidence-based medical evidence, the authors designed this protocol to evaluate TCM's effectiveness and safety. METHODS: Seven electronic databases will be searched from inception to Aug. 2020. Two of us will independently identify randomized controlled trials, extract the data and assess the risk of bias. The meta-analysis will be conducted with the Review Manager 5.3 software according the heterogeneity of eligible studies. Further, we will use the grading of recommendations assessment, development, and evaluation to evaluate the evidence quality. RESULTS: This study will demonstrate an evidence-based review of TCM for PLC. CONCLUSION: The study will provide clear evidence to assess the effectiveness and side effects of TCM for PLC. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: PROSPERO CRD 42020173748.