Meta-analysis of the efficacy of glycyrrhizin for postoperative liver preservation in patients with liver cancer

• Published in: Journal of cancer research and therapeutics 2022-04, Vol.18 (2), p.461-469
• Main Authors: Li, Yongqing, Hao, Mingju, Zhang, Bingyang, Wang, Peijun, Zhang, Dantong, Lu, Sumei, Ma, Wanshan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cancer; Care and treatment; Glycosides; Health aspects; Liver cancer; Meta-analysis; Metastasis; Oncology, Experimental; Pharmacology, Experimental; Postoperative care
• ISSN: 0973-1482; 1998-4138
• DOI: 10.4103/jcrt.jcrt_1811_21

Objective: This meta-analysis comprehensively summarizes the current clinical research on compound glycyrrhizin (CG) treatment for liver cancer and protecting liver function to guide clinical treatment. Methods: Eighteen English-language articles were retrieved from PubMed, SinoMed, Cochrane, Embase, Web of Science, and three Chinese databases: The Wan Fang database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and the VIP database. Results: CG treatment improved the patient's alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level (in the metastatic liver cancer group: mean deviation (MD) = −13.78, 95% confidence interval (CI) = [−17.29, 10.27]; in the primary liver cancer group: MD = −32.15, 95% CI = [−35.48, 28.81]); aspartate aminotransferase (AST) level (in the primary liver cancer group: MD = −21.63, 95% CI = [−24.29, 18.96]; in the metastatic liver cancer group: MD = −15.64, 95% CI = [−19.08, −12.20]); serum total bilirubin (TBIL) level (MD = −1.61, 95% CI = [−2.71, −0.51]); and serum albumin (ALB) level (MD = 2.80, 95% CI = [1.85, 3.74]). CG treatment was efficient than the control (relative risk [RR] = 1.66, 95% CI = [1.35, 2.04]). Although adverse reactions, including fever, were higher than in the control group (RR = 1.13, 95% CI = [0.89, 1.43]), they were controllable. Conclusion: CG affects liver preservation in treating liver cancer, which can reduce ALT, AST, and TBIL levels in patients; increase the ALB level; and protect liver cells. The CG-treated group showed improvement compared with the control group; although adverse reactions occurred in the treated group, the duration was shortened.