Table 6.
Summary of sensitivity analyses
| Main analysis [RR (95% CI); P value; studies (N); I2] | Fixed effects [RR (95% CI); P value; studies (N); I2] | Exclusion of poor quality studies [RR (95% CI); P value; studies (N); I2] | Exclusion of studies with imputed data [RR (95% CI); P value; studies (N); I2] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LTR | 2.49 (1.19, 5.22); P = 0.016; 8; 84% | 1.56 (1.28, 1.90); P < 0.001; 8; 84% | 2.01 (1.06, 3.84); P = 0.033; 7; 72% | NA |
| OS (1-year) | 1.01 (0.99, 1.03); P = 0.409; 10; 0% | 1.00 (0.97, 1.03); P = 0.977; 10; 0% | 1.00 (0.97, 1.03); P = 0.992; 9; 0% | NA |
| OS (3-year) | 0.94 (0.88, 0.99); P = 0.03; 10; 0% | 0.92 (0.86, 0.99); P = 0.016; 10; 0% | 0.94 (0.88, 1.00); P = 0.061; 9; 0% | NA |
| OS (5-year) | 0.88 (0.80, 0.97); P = 0.01; 9; 0% | 0.87 (0.79, 0.96); P = 0.008; 9; 0% | 0.88 (0.79, 0.98); P = 0.025; 8; 0% | NA |
| IDL | 1.13 (0.80, 1.60); P = 0.474; 5; 75% | 1.12 (0.95, 1.33); P = 0.17; 5; 75% | 1.14 (0.74, 1.76); P = 0.544; 4; 81% | NA |
| EHM | 1.10 (0.71, 1.72); P = 0.659; 2; 0% | 1.09 (0.70, 1.69); P = 0.71; 2; 0% | Too few studies (< 2) to inform | NA |
| Operative time (min)* | − 58.69 (− 89.55, − 27.83); P < 0.001; 3; 94% | − 67.99 (− 74.36, − 61.61); P < 0.001; 3; 94% | − 44.61 (− 63.74, − 25.49); P < 0.001; 2; 49% | − 58.89 (− 100.15, − 17.63); P = 0.005; 2; 97% |
| IBL (mL)* | − 189.09 (− 324.54, − 53.64); P = 0.006; 3; 93% | − 119.88 (− 146.57, − 91.19); P < 0.001; 3; 93% | − 189.09 (− 324.54, − 53.64); P = 0.006; 3; 93% | − 229.28 (− 512.69, 54.12); P = 0.113; 2; 97% |
| LOS (days)* | − 6.16 (− 8.25, − 4.07); P < 0.001; 6; 84% | − 7.13 (− 7.78, − 6.48); P < 0.001; 6; 84% | − 6.14 (− 8.60, − 3.68); P < 0.001; 5; 87% | − 6.5 (− 9.52, − 3.48); P < 0.001; 4; 88% |
| DFS (1-year) | 0.95 (0.90, 1.01); P = 0.085; 8; 39% | 0.94 (0.89, 0.99); P = 0.016; 8; 39% | 0.95 (0.90, 1.01); P = 0.085; 8; 39% | NA |
| DFS (3-year) | 0.78 (0.65, 0.94); P = 0.009; 8; 59% | 0.76 (0.68, 0.85); P < 0.001; 8; 59% | 0.78 (0.65, 0.94); P = 0.009; 8; 59% | NA |
| DFS (5-year) | 0.83 (0.58, 1.17); P = 0.284; 8; 71% | 0.79 (0.66, 0.95); P = 0.011; 8; 71% | 0.83 (0.58, 1.17); P = 0.284; 8; 71% | NA |
| Overall complications | 0.31 (0.19, 0.51); P < 0.001; 9; 10% | 0.33 (0.21, 0.50); P < 0.001; 9; 10% | 0.32 (0.19,0.55); P < 0.001; 8; 19% | NA |
| Major complications | 0.24 (0.10, 0.61); P = 0.002; 4; 0% | 0.23 (0.09, 0.59); P = 0.002; 4; 0% | Too few studies (< 2) to inform | NA |
| Minor complications | 0.45 (0.23, 0.90); P = 0.024; 3; 66% | 0.43 (0.32, 0.59); P < 0.001; 3; 66% | 1.32 (0.04, 39.86); P = 0.872; 2; 83% | NA |
*The effect measures for operative time, intraoperative blood loss, and LOS are the weighted mean differences.
Italicized values indicate statistical significance. Point estimates and confidence intervals were calculated using a random effects model apart from the sensitivity using a fixed effects model
Abbreviations: CI confidence interval, DFS disease-free survival, EHM extrahepatic metastases, HCC hepatocellular carcinoma, IBL intraoperative blood loss, IDL intrahepatic de novo lesions, LOS, length of stay, LTR local tumor recurrence, MWA microwave ablation, OS overall survival, RR risk ratio