Abstract
Jinlong capsule (JLC), a type of herbal medicine, is considered to be a promising adjuvant therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HC). Although an analysis of the published literature has been performed, the exact effects and safety of JLC are yet to be systematically investigated. Therefore, a wide-ranging systematic search of electronic databases to draw conclusions was performed. Data from 29 trials, including 2488 patients with advanced HC, were analyzed. The results indicated that, compared with conventional treatment alone, the combination of conventional treatment and JLC markedly improved overall patient response (odds ratio (OR) 2.06 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.71–2.49]; P<0.00001), disease control rate (DCR) (OR 2.17 [95% CI 1.74–2.71]; P<0.00001) and quality of life (QoL) (OR 2.71 [95% CI 2.05–3.58]; P<0.00001), and significantly prolonged 6- (P=0.01), 12- (P<0.00001), 24- (P=0.001) and 36-month (P<0.0001) overall survival (OS) rates. The immune function of patients was also significantly enhanced after combined conventional therapy and JLC treatment, indicated by clearly increased percentages of CD3+ (P<0.0001), CD4+ (P<0.00001) and natural killer (NK) cells (P=0.0003), and CD4+/CD8+ ratio (P<0.00001). The incidence of leukopenia (P<0.00001), hepatotoxicity (P=0.005), and myelosuppression (P=0.0007) was lower in HC patients injected with JLC, whereas other adverse events did not differ significantly between the two groups (P>0.05). In summary, results of this meta-analysis suggest that the combination of conventional treatment and JLC is more effective for the treatment of HC than conventional treatment alone.
Highlights
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HC) is the seventh most common cancer and the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide [1]
Studies fulfilling the following criteria were included in the meta-analysis: controlled trials investigating patients with advanced HC; those with >30 HC patients; studies comparing the clinical outcomes of conventional treatment plus Jinlong capsule (JLC) adjuvant therapy with conventional treatment alone; and conventional treatments including transcatheter arterial chemoembolization, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, radiofrequency ablation, percutaneous ethanol injection, support and symptomatic treatment and ultrasound therapy
The study assessed whether JLC could prolong the long-term survival rates of HC patients, and the results showed that the 6, 12, 24- and 36-month overall survival (OS) of patients were significantly prolonged compared with the control group
Summary
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HC) is the seventh most common cancer and the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide [1]. It was estimated that 840000 new cases of HC and 781631 HC-related deaths occurred worldwide in 2018 [1]. HC progresses to the intermediate and advanced stages, for which the 5-year survival rate is
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