TABLE 1.
Basic characteristics of the included studies.
| First author and year | Staging criteria | Stage | Sample size (E/C) | Age (year) | Male/female | Child-Pugh | KPS | Drastic medicinals added | Treatment period | Washout period | Outcome measure |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zhang (2020) | BCLC | CD | 20/20 | E:59.6 ± 9.3 C:59.6 ± 9.3 |
E:15/5 C:15/5 |
— | >70 | No | 8 w | 4 w | abei |
| Shen L. N. (2020) | GDTPLCC (2017) | Ⅱb and Ⅲ | 30/30 | E:60.03 ± 9.48 C:58.37 ± 11.05 |
E:24/6 C:25/5 |
AB | — | No | 5 w | Primary treatment | fgj |
| Feng and Chen (2015) | — | Ⅱ and Ⅲ | 42/42 | — | — | — | >60 | No | 12 w | Primary treatment | de |
| Cheng M. F. (2015) | DTCCCC (1991) | Ⅱ and Ⅲ | 42/42 | — | — | — | — | No | 2 w | 4 w | abfgj |
| Deng L. (2014) | CDSCPLCC (2001) | Ⅱ and Ⅲ | 42/38 | E:66.78 ± 3.98 C:65.68 ± 4.69 |
E:26/12 C:25/17 |
AB | ≥60 | No | 12 w | 4 w | abefghij |
| Liu X. (2013) | CPG·CS | Ⅱ and Ⅲ | 32/32 | E:51.7 ± 10.3 C:52.2 ± 9.74 |
E:27/5 C:26/6 |
AB | ≥60 | No | 8 w | 4 w | deij |
| Ji J. (2012) | DTCCCC (1991) | Ⅱ and Ⅲ | 28/28 | E:44.3 ± 11.6 C:43.6 ± 12.8 |
E:18/10 C:16/12 |
AB | ≥60 | No | 4 w | 8 w | dej |
| Li Y.H. (2011) | CDSCPLCC (2001) | Ⅱ and Ⅲ | 38/36 | E:52.7 C:54.1 (median age) |
E:29/7 C:31/7 |
AB | ≥60 | No | 60 d | 4 w | abcdehij |
| Chi H. C. (2010) | DTCCCC (1991) | Middle-advanced | 60/60 | — | E:36/24 C:38/22 |
— | — | No | 4 m | 4 w | bcdej |
| Wang A. M. (2020) | BCLC | BC | 30/30 | E:49.24 ± 13.74 C:48.64 ± 14.48 |
C:18/12 E:17/13 |
AB | — | No | 4 w | 4 w | fgj |
| Song Y. N. (2017) | GDTPLCC (2017) | Middle-advanced | 40/40 | E:54.48 ± 8.36 C:53.7 ± 8.27 |
E:18/22 C:30/10 |
— | 60–80 | No | 3 rounds, 6–8 w per round | Primary treatment | abcefgh |
| Ye W. D. (2015) | BCLC | BC | 34/34 | E:55.15 C:55.24 (median age) |
E:29/5 C:30/4 |
— | ≥70 | No | 5 w | 4 w | efj |
| Huang J. Y. (2009) | DTCCCC (1990) | Ⅱ and Ⅲ | 30/30 | E:54.5 C:56.1 |
E:21/9 C:20/10 |
— | ≥50 | Yes | 60 d | 4 w | dej |
| Wang (2015) | GDTPLC (2011) | Ⅱ, Ⅲ, and Ⅳ | 46/46 | E:41.2 ± 11.7 C:40.6 ± 12.4 |
E:25/21 C:27/19 |
— | >50 | Yes | 4 w | 2 w | eh |
| Rong Z. (2013) | NDDTCCCC | Middle-advanced | 30/30 | E:52.73 ± 10.42 C:55.37 ± 10.68 |
E:18/12 C:16/14 |
AB | ≥60 | Yes | 8 w | 4 w | efgh |
| Wang Q. M. (2016) | CPG·CS | Ⅲ and Ⅳ | 30/30 | E:46.67 ± 7.19 C:46.47 ± 7.38 |
E:24/6 C:22/8 |
AB | ≥60 | Yes | 8 w | 4 w | deij |
| Du H. P. (2018) | — | Ⅱ and Ⅲ | 35/34 | — | E:24/10 C:21/14 |
ABC | >60 | Yes | 3 m | Primary treatment | fgj |
| Wang X. D. (2020) | GDTPLCC (2017) | Ⅱb and Ⅲa | 25/25 | E:56.52 ± 13.40 C:55.52 ± 12.58 |
E:20/5C:23/2 | AB | ≥60 | Yes | 6 w | 4 w | defghij |
| Jiang R. R. (2020) | TNM | Ⅱ and Ⅲ | 45/45 | E:50.6 ± 8.1 C:49.7 ± 8.0 |
E:25/20 C:23/22 |
AB | >75 | Yes | 12 w | Primary treatment or 4 w | ehj |
| Tang Q. Y. (2015) | CDSCPLCC (2002) | Middle-advanced | 53/53 | E:53.67 ± 11.18 C:55.38 ± 10.72 |
E:46/7 C:48/5 |
AB | ≥60 | Yes | 12 w | 8 w | defg |
| Ding R. F. (2012) | — | Ⅲ and Ⅳ | 33/30 | E:53.9 C:56.4 |
E:17/13 C:19/14 |
AB | — | Yes | 2 rounds, 3–5 w per round | Primary treatment | e |
| Zhang Q. (2007) | DTCCCC (1991) | Middle-advanced | 58/54 | E:58.0 ± 7.0 C:56.5 ± 8.5 |
E:35/19 C:38/20 |
— | ≥50 | Yes | 2 m | 4 w | abcdej |
| Zhang Z. Y. (2017) | TNM | Ⅱ, Ⅲ, and Ⅳ | 38/38 | E:39.42 ± 5.37 C:39.61 ± 5.42 |
E:25/13 C:26/12 |
AB | >60 | Yes | 90 d | 4 w | efgh |
| Li and Xu (2017) | GDTPLC (2011) | Middle-advanced | 40/38 | E:49.08 ± 11.27 C:46.18 ± 10.65 |
E:30/8 C:32/8 |
AB | ≥60 | Yes | 60 d | Primary treatment | bcdj |
BCLC, Barcelona clinic liver cancer; GDTPLCC (2017), Guidelines for Diagnosis and Treatment of Primary Liver Cancer in China (2017 Edition); DTCCCC (1991), the Diagnosis and Treatment Criterion for Common Cancer in China (1991 Edition); CDSCPLCC (2001), Clinical Diagnosis and Staging Criteria of Primary Liver Cancer in China (2001 Edition); CPG·CS, Clinical Practice Guideline·Cancer Section; DTCCCC (1990), the Diagnosis and Treatment Criterion for Common Cancer in China (1991 Edition); GDTPLC (2011), Guidelines on the Diagnosis and Treatment of Primary Liver Cancer (2011 Edition); NDDTCCCC, New edition of the Diagnosis and Treatment Criterion for Common Cancer in China (1999 Edition); TNM, TNM Classification of Malignant Tumors; CDSCPLCC (2002), Clinical Diagnosis and Staging Criteria of Primary Liver Cancer in China (2002 Edition); E, experiment group; C, control group; d, day; w, week; m, month; a, 6-month survival; b, 1-year survival; c, 2-year survival; d, KPS; e, ORR; f, ALT; g, AST; h, AFP; i, TCM symptom improvement; j, adverse events.