Circulating Tumor Cells for Predicting the Prognostic of Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Meta Analysis

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The prognostic value of circulating tumor cells (CTC) detected in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients is currently under debate. We conducted a meta-analysis of available studies to assess its prognostic value for patients diagnosed with HCC. METHODS: Medline, Ovid Database, Embase, The Science Citation Index, and Cochrane library, search was conducted on all studies reporting the outcomes of interest. The studies were set up according to the inclusion/exclusion criteria. Using a random-effects model, meta-analysis was performed using hazard ratio (HR), risk ratio (RR) and their 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) as effect measures. Heterogeneity of the studies was tested for each pooled analysis. Subgroup and sensitivity analyses were also performed. RESULTS: twenty-three published studies that matched the selection criteria were included in this meta-analysis. CTC positivity was significantly associated with Relapse free survival (RFS) (HR 3.03, 95% CI: [1.89-4.86]; p<0.00001) and Overall survival (OS) (HR 2.45, 95% CI: [1.73-3.48]; p<0.00001). CTC positivity were also significantly associated with TNM Stage (RR 1.30, 95% CI: [1.02-1.65]; p=0.03), Tumor size (RR 1.36, 95% CI: [1.09-1.69]; p=0.006), Vascular invasion (RR 1.99, 95% CI: [1.43-2.77]; p<0.0001), Portal vein tumor thrombus (RR 1.73, 95% CI: [1.42-2.11]; p=0.0001), Serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) level (RR 2.05, 95% CI: [1.18-3.54]; p=0.01). CONCLUSION: CTC positivity indicates poor prognosis in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, and associated with poor clinicopathologic parameters.