Platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio in the setting of liver transplantation for hepatocellular cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis

AIMTo perform a systematic review and meta-analysis on platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) as a risk factor for post-transplant hepatocellular cancer (HCC) recurrence. METHODSA systematic literature search was performed using PubMed.Participants of any age and sex, who underwent liver transplantation for HCC were considered following these criteria: (1) studies comparing pre-transplant low vs high PLR values; (2) studies reporting post-transplant recurrence rates; and (3) if more than one study was reported by the same institute, only the most recent was included.The primary outcome measure was set for HCC recurrence after transplantation. RESULTSA total of 5 articles, published between 2014 and 2017, fulfilled the selection criteria.As for the quality of the reported studies, all the investigated articles presented