SynthesisFrontiers in oncology2026
The clinical utility of serum prealbumin levels as a prognostic marker in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma undergoing transcatheter arterial chemoembolization: a meta-analysis of 2,996 patients.
Synthesis in Frontiers in oncology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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Abstract
Introduction: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a leading cause of cancer death globally. Transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) is key for unresectable HCC, but patient outcomes vary, necessitating reliable prognostic markers. Although preoperative serum prealbumin (PAB) reflects nutrition and liver function and shows prognostic potential in single-center studies, high-level evidence is lacking. This meta-analysis aimed to systematically confirm the prognostic value of baseline serum PAB in HCC patients undergoing TACE. Materials and methods: Relevant publications up to February 3, 2026, were retrieved from PubMed, The Cochrane Library, Embase, Web of Science, CNKI, Wanfang, VIP, and CBM databases. Fixed-effect or random-effects models were used to calculate the pooled hazard ratio (HR) for overall survival (OS) and odds ratio (OR) for clinicopathological characteristics associated with serum PAB. Sensitivity and subgroup analyses investigated heterogeneity and assessed result stability. Publication bias analysis was conducted to evaluate the reliability of the meta-analysis findings. Results: Eight datasets from five studies were analyzed. Lower baseline PAB was significantly associated with poorer OS (pooled HR for high vs. low PAB = 0.64, 95% CI: 0.59-0.70, P<0.0001; random-effects model, I Conclusion: The analysis of 2,996 patients confirms that lower baseline serum PAB is significantly associated with poorer OS and unfavorable clinicopathological features in HCC patients receiving TACE. Further prospective and multi-center studies are needed to validate its clinical utility.
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