Table 1.
Main characteristics of individual studies.
| First author, year | Country | Study design | Sample size (% male) | Mean/median age (years) | Child–Pugh class | Low albumin | Prealbumin cutoff (mg/dl) | Outcome measures: HR or RR (95% CI) | Adjustment for covariates | Follow-up duration | Total NOS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Huang et al. (9) | China | R | 427 (84.8) | 51.1 ± 10.4 | NR | NR | <17 vs. ≥17 | HI: 3.19 (1.19–8.60) | Multivariate Cox proportional hazard analysis | 21 days | 7 |
| Zhao et al. (10) | China | R | 373 (87.9) | 52 (25–81) | NR | NR | ≤15.2 vs. >15.2 | OS: 1.45 (1.03–2.05) RFS: 1.56 (1.18–2.07) |
Multivariate Cox proportional hazard analysis | 60 months | 7 |
| Shimura et al. (11) | Japan | R | 25 (88) | 69.6 (55–84) | A: 88%; B: 8%; C: 4% | NR | ≤11.4 vs. >11.4 | OS: 4.84 (1.12–20.9) | Multivariate Cox proportional hazard analysis | 67.7 months | 7 |
| Wen et al. (12) | China | P | 613 (81.9) | 52.9 ± 10.4 | A: 88.9%; B: 10.1% | 10.9% | ≤12 vs. >19 (men); ≤11 vs. >17 (women) | OS: 1.37 (1.13–1.65) | Multivariate Cox proportional hazard analysis | 23 months | 7 |
| Zhang et al. (13) | China | P | 230 (83.9) | 51.6 ± 12.2 | NR | NR | ≤15.3 vs. >15.3 | OS: 2.35 (1.25–4.39) | Age, sex, alcohol, tobacco, hypertension, diabetes, chemotherapy, tumor size, tumor number, differentiation, BCLC stage, AFP | >36 months | 7 |
| Jia, 2019 (14) | China | R | 526 (85.6) | NR | A: 94.9%; B: 5.1% | 10.3% | ≤18.2 vs. >18.2 | OS: 1.64 (1.27–2.12) | Age, sex, tumor size, tumor number, tumor capsule, albumin, ALT, TB, AFP, AST, macrovascular invasion, cirrhosis, HBsAg, Child–Pugh, BCLC stage | 56 months | 7 |
| Li et al. (23) | China | R | 1,483 (89) | 51 ± 11 | A: 90%; B: 10% | NR | ≤17 vs. >17 | OS: 1.45 (1.24–1.70) RFS: 1.28 (1.10–1.48) |
Comorbid illness, ECOG performance status, cirrhosis, portal hypertension, TB, AST, albumin, AFP, maximum tumor size, tumor number, vascular invasion, satellites, tumor differentiation, blood loss, blood transfusion, major hepatectomy | 67 months | 8 |
| Li et al. (24) | China | R | 2,022 (86.0) | 49.5 ± 11.2 | A: 90.1%; B: 9.9% | 10.7% | ≤16.6 vs. >16.6 | OS: 1.69 (1.44–1.98) | Age, sex, tumor number, tumor size, tumor capsule, HBsAg, cirrhosis, AFP, ALB, AST, ALT, TB, Child–Pugh, BCLC stage | 37.4 months | 8 |
| Wang, 2020 (16) | China | R | 142 (82.4) | NR | NR | NR | ≤20 vs. >20 | OS:1.45 (0.96–2.17) | Tumor diameter, tumor number, HBsAg, cirrhosis, C-reactive protein, CNLC stage | 60 months | 7 |
| Li et al. (25) | China | R | 1,356 (88.9) | 50.6 ± 10.6 | A: 90.4%; B: 9.6% | NR | <17 vs. ≥17 | OS: 2.50 (1.22–5.15) HI: 1.97 (1.12–3.43) |
Sex, comorbid illness, platelets, AST, tumor size, tumor number, vascular invasion, blood loss, blood transfusion, extent of hepatectomy, type of resection, operation time | 3 months | 8 |
| Xu et al. (17) | China | R | 245 (88.2) | Not reported | A: 93.5%; B: 6.5% | 8.98% | ≤20 vs. >20 | OS: 1.43 (0.66–1.78) | Multivariate Cox proportional hazard analysis | 60 months | 7 |
HR, hazard ratio; RR, risk ratio; CI, confidence interval; P, prospective; R, retrospective; NR, not reported; HCC, hepatocellular carcinoma; OS, overall survival; RFS, recurrence-free survival; HI, hepatic insufficiency; ALT, alanine transaminase; AST, aspartate aminotransferase; BCLC, Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer; HBsAg, hepatitis B surface antigen; TB, total bilirubin; ECOG, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group; AFP, Alpha fetoprotein; CNLC, China Liver Cancer; NOS, Newcastle–Ottawa Scale.