Search

Aim. To evaluate the prognostic significance of C-reactive protein to albumin ratio (CAR) for clinical outcomes in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients. Material and Methods. Eligible studies were searched by PubMed, MedLine, the Cochrane Library, from January 1, 2000, to June 30, 2019, investigating the prognostic value of CAR in patients with HCC. Primary endpoint was OS. Hazard ratio (HR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was used to determine the effect size. Results. 7 records including 2208 patients published since 2014 were enrolled into our meta-analysis. Clinicopathological characteristics were also correlated with the level of CAR. The pooled HR for the OS rate between low and high CAR groups was 2.13 (95% CI 1.70~2.68, P0.1, HR=1.99, 95% CI 1.52~2.61; respectively), and sample size (200, HR=1.75, 95% CI 1.52~2.02; respectively). Conclusion. With the current data, we clearly concluded that CAR was closely correlated with prognosis of patients with HCC. Multicenter, prospective randomized trials are warranted to confirm the conclusion.