SynthesisAlimentary pharmacology & therapeutics2023
Meta-analysis: Chemoprevention of hepatocellular carcinoma with statins, aspirin and metformin.
Synthesis in Alimentary pharmacology & therapeutics, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 57 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
57 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 80 citations in OpenAlex.
- Statin Therapy Independently Reduces Mortality and Liver Complications in Patients With Cirrhosis: An Updated Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Alimentary pharmacology & therapeutics · 2026Pooled it
- Statin use and risk of HCC in patients with MASLD and T2DM: an umbrella review and meta-analysis.BMC cancer · 2025 · on this mapPooled it
- Chemoprevention of Gastrointestinal Cancers: An Umbrella Review of Meta-Analyses of Randomized Controlled Trials and Cohort Studies.Clinical and translational science · 2025Pooled it
- Statin Use and Liver Cancer Risk: A Meta-Epidemiological Study of Retrospective Cohort Studies by the Types of Constructed Cohort.Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention : APJCP · 2024Pooled it
- The Malaysian Society of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Consensus Statements on Prevention and Early Detection of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Malaysia.Journal of gastroenterology and hepatology · 2026Review
- Risk of HCC in Elderly Patients With MASLD: Proposal of an Effective Surveillance Strategy.Journal of gastroenterology and hepatology · 2026Article
- The MASLD-Cardio-Oncology Triangle: Dietary Patterns, Metabolic Remodelling and Implications for Cancer Therapy Tolerance.Nutrients · 2026Review
- Cumulative Metformin Use and Hepatocellular Carcinoma Risk After HCV SVR: A Multicentre Cohort Study.Liver international : official journal of the International Association for the Study of the Liver · 2026Observational
- Systemic metabolic dysfunction drives platelet-mediated inflammation, fibrogenesis, and hepatocarcinogenesis in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease.Clinical and molecular hepatology · 2026Review
- Metformin use and the risk of liver cancer in a Swedish population-based cohort study.JNCI cancer spectrum · 2026Article
- Global trends, knowledge structure, and thematic evolution of statin-cancer research: A comprehensive mapping and visualization study with insights from highly cited literature (1940-2025).Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology · 2026Review
- Pharmacologic Treatment of Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease in the Context of Type 2 Diabetes.Current diabetes reports · 2026Review
- Aspirin and hepatocellular carcinoma risk in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease: nationwide cohort study with genetic risk analysis.Clinical and molecular hepatology · 2026Article
- Beyond cardiovascular protection: a conceptual and translational review of the hepato-specific mechanisms of statins in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD).Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Review
- Liver reprogramming toward hepatocellular carcinoma following hepatitis C sustained virologic response: a narrative review.Translational gastroenterology and hepatology · 2026Review
- Hepatocellular carcinoma: Epidemiology, diagnosis and treatment.JHEP reports : innovation in hepatology · 2025Review
- Chemoprevention of hepatocellular carcinoma.Hepatology communications · 2025Review
- Second-line antidiabetic drugs: friend or foe of the liver.Journal of liver cancer · 2025Article
- Hepatocellular carcinoma stem cells: the current state of small molecule-based inhibitors.Cell death & disease · 2025Review
- Statins in MASLD: Challenges and future directions.JHEP reports : innovation in hepatology · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
20 authors at 7 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundEmerging data suggest that statins, aspirin and metformin may protect against hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development. However, prior meta-analyses were limited by heterogeneity and inclusion of studies without adequate adjustment for baseline risks.
aimTo examine by an updated meta-analysis the association between these medications and HCC risk.
methodsMedline and Embase databases were searched from inception to March 2022 for studies that balanced baseline risks between study groups via propensity score matching or inverse probability of treatment weighting, that reported the impact of statins, aspirin or metformin on HCC risk. Multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) for HCC were pooled using a random effects model.
resultsStatin use was associated with reduced HCC risk overall (HR: 0.52; 95% CI: 0.37-0.72) (10 studies, 1,774,476), and in subgroup analyses for cirrhosis, hepatitis B/C, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, studies accounting for concurrent aspirin and metformin consumption and lipophilic statins. Aspirin use was associated with reduced HCC risk overall (HR: 0.48; 95% CI: 0.27-0.87) (11 studies, 2,190,285 patients) but not in studies accounting for concurrent statin and metformin use. Metformin use was not associated with reduced HCC risk overall (HR: 0.57; 95% CI: 0.31-1.06) (3 studies, 125,458 patients). Most analyses had moderate/substantial heterogeneity, except in follow-up <60 months for aspirin (I
conclusionAlthough statin and aspirin use were associated with reduced HCC risk, only statin use was significant in subgroup analyses accounting for concurrent medications. Metformin use was not associated with reduced HCC risk. These data have implications for future clinical trial design.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.