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

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.