SynthesisBMC cancer2026
Immune effect of Traditional Chinese Medicine combined with transcatheter arterial chemoembolization in treatment of liver cancer: a meta-analysis.
Synthesis in BMC cancer, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
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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
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Multimodal Conversion Therapy Enabling Curative Resection in Giant Hepatocellular Carcinoma with Arteriovenous Fistula: A Case Report.Journal of hepatocellular carcinoma · 2026Article
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Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundIncreasing studies have examined the combination of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) with Transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) in treating liver cancer. However, these results were inconsistent in immune function. Therefore, our study aimed to conduct a meta-analysis to evaluate the immune function of TCM combined with TACE in liver cancer patients.
methodsSeven electronic databases were retrieved from January 1, 2014, to January 6, 2025. The Cochrane Risk of Bias 2.0 tool was used to assess the quality of all the included articles. The primary outcomes were immune-related indicators, which were measured by standard mean difference (SMD) and 95% CI. A random-effects model was used due to the inconsistent units of measurement. Subgroup analysis and sensitivity analysis were used to explore the sources of heterogeneity. Publication bias was systematically assessed using funnel plots and Egger's test. Meta-analysis was performed using the Stata 17.0.
resultsSixty studies involving 5371 participants were included in this meta-analysis. Our findings indicated that the TCM + TACE group significantly improved immunity compared to the TACE group, including the proportion of CD3
conclusionsTCM combined with TACE for liver cancer can improve immune function. Additionally, the combination treatment can reduce the VEGF levels associated with inhibiting angiogenesis. Therefore, combining TCM with TACE offers advantages over TACE in treating liver cancer. The protocol has been registered with the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) ( https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/ ), registration number CRD420251011821.
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