Published in:
Open Access
01-12-2023 | Hepatocellular Carcinoma | Research
The relationship between aspirin consumption and hepatocellular carcinoma: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors:
Shuai Wang, Lijuan Zuo, Zhaojin Lin, Zhiqin Yang, Ran Chen, Yan Xu
Published in:
European Journal of Medical Research
|
Issue 1/2023
Login to get access
Abstract
Background
Recent studies have shown that aspirin consumption may reduce the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but their correlation is still not fully understood. This meta-analysis aimed to investigate the correlation between aspirin consumption and HCC.
Methods
A systematic literature search was conducted on PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, and Web of Science databases. The search period was from the establishment of the database to July 1, 2022 with no language restrictions.
Results
A total of 19 studies including three prospective studies and 16 retrospective ones with 2,217,712 patients were included. Compared with those who did not take aspirin, those who took aspirin had a 30% lower risk of HCC (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.70, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.63–0.76, I2 = 84.7%, P < 0.001). Subgroup analysis showed that aspirin significantly reduced the risk of HCC by 19% in Asia (HR = 0.81, 95% CI 0.80–0.82, I2 = 85.2%, P < 0.001) and by 33% (HR = 0.67, 95% CI 0.61–0.73, I2 = 43.6%, P = 0.150) in Europe and the U.S with no significant difference. Moreover, in patients with HBV or HCV infection, aspirin reduced 19% and 24% of the risk of HCC, respectively. However, aspirin administration might increase risks of gastrointestinal bleeding in patients with chronic liver disease (HR = 1.14, 95% CI 0.99–1.31, I2 = 0.0%, P = 0.712). Sensitivity analysis showed no significant difference of results after excluding individual studies, suggesting that the results were robust.
Conclusion
Aspirin may reduce the risk of HCC in both healthy population and patients with chronic liver disease. However, attention should be paid to adverse events such as gastrointestinal bleeding in patients with chronic liver disease.