Effect of sodium cantharidinate/vitamin B6 injection on survival, liver function, immune function, and quality of life in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma: Protocol for a meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Sodium cantharidinate/vitamin B6 (SC/VB6) injection, a famous insect-derived traditional Chinese medicine preparation, has been widely applied as a promising adjunctive drug for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, its exact clinical efficacy and safety is still not well investigated. In this study, we aimed to summarize the efficacy of SC/VB6 injection on survival, liver function, immune function, and quality of life (QoL) in patients with 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 SC/VB6 for patients with HCC were searched from ten electronic databases including PubMed, Google Scholar, Cochrane Library, Excerpt Medica Database (Embase), Medline, Web of Science (WOS), Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), China Scientific Journal Database (CSJ), and Wanfang Database. Papers in Chinese or English published from January 2000 to July 2020 will be included without any restrictions. Study selection and data extraction will be performed independently by 2 researchers. The clinical outcomes including overall survival (OS), QoL, liver function, 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 clinical trials 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 HCC patients. CONCLUSION: Our study will draw an objective conclusion of the efficacy of SC/VB6 on survival, liver function, immune function, and QoL in patients with HCC. INPLASY REGISTRATION NUMBER: INPLASY202070121.