Thrombocytopenia for prediction of hepatocellular carcinoma recurrence: Systematic review and meta-analysis

Table 1 Baseline characteristics of the studies included in the meta-analysis

Ref.	Year	Country	Cutoff(109/L)	Therapy	Adjusted HR	Recurrence type	Men	Women	Recurrence	Follow-up time (mo)	LoE
Saito et al[32]	2014	Japan	100	PH + RFA	No	Overall	38	13	39	39.9-46.6	4
Kaibori et al[19]	2013	Japan	150	PH	Yes	Overall	60	14	14	151.2	2a
Shiina et al[24]	2012	Japan	100	RFA	Yes	Distant	751	419	740	38.2	2b
Nishikawa et al[25]	2012	Japan	100	RFA	Yes	Distant	114	68	86	36.4	2b
Kao et al[26]	2012	TaiWan	100	RFA	Yes	Overall	162	96	163	28.5	2b
Miyatake et al[33]	2012	Japan	100	PH + PTA	Yes	Overall	260	135	277	42-46	2b
Ikeda et al[20]	2011	Japan	150	RFA	No	Overall	68	39	55	12	4
Amano et al[21]	2011	Japan	100	PH	No	Overall	127	24	107	49.2	4
Ishikawa et al[31]	2011	Japan	100	TACE	Yes	Distant	47	31	46	36.6	1b
Hagihara et al[34]	2011	Japan	100	PH + PTA	No	Overall	124	58	81	44.4	4
Nonaka et al[22]	2010	Japan	100	PH	No	Overall	42	22	32	12	4
Kang et al[23]	2009	Korea	100	PH	No	Overall	125	42	78	38	4
Fuke et al[28]	2008	Japan	100	RFA	Yes	Distant	80	37	90	29.1	2b
Nouso et al[27]	2008	Japan	100	RFA	No	Overall + distant	415	206	589	34.7	4
Jeong et al[35]	2007	Japan	100	PH + medical	Yes	Overall	65	19	50	32	2b
Tateishi et al[29]	2006	Japan	100	RFA	No	Overall	276	140	277	NR	4
Yamanaka et al[30]	2005	Japan	100	RFA	Yes	Distant	17	9	14	18	2b
Ikeda et al[36]	2000	Japan	100	PH + RFA	No	Overall	13	7	8	25	4

LoE: Level of evidence; NR: Not reported; PH: Partial hepatectomy.

Table 2 Effects of platelet count in different studies using the two effects model

	Random-effects model	Fixed-effect model
	HR (95%CI)	HR (95%CI)
All studies	1.53 (1.29-1.81)	1.41 (1.28-1.55)
Thrombocytopenia	1.42 (1.27-1.60)	1.39 (1.26-1.54)
Liver resection	4.46 (1.57-12.65)	3.48 (2.07-5.83)
RFA	1.43 (1.24-1.65)	1.39 (1.24-1.56)
Distant recurrence	1.49 (1.25-1.77)	1.45 (1.26-1.67)
HCV-HCC	1.33 (1.12-1.60)	1.33 (1.12-1.60)

RFA: Radiofrequency ablation; HCV: Hepatitis C virus; HCC: Hepatocellular carcinoma.

Table 3 Subgroup and meta-regression analyses

Covariates	Subgroup	No.	HR (95% CI)	Heterogeneity			Meta-regression
				Pa	I2	Pb	Crude P	Adjusted P
Treatment	Resection	4	4.46 (1.57-12.65)	0.012	72.4	0.005	0.048	0.212
	RFA	8	1.43 (1.24-1.65)	0.283	18.6
	Resection+RFA	4	1.26 (1.03-1.55)	0.532	0
	Others	2	1.43 (0.96-2.11)	0.916	0
Follow-up	≥ 36	9	1.71 (1.25-2.35)	0.000	73.4	0.454	0.596	0.989
(mo)	< 36	9	1.35 (1.17-2.56)	0.859	0
Confounder	Adjusted	9	1.70 (1.30-2.22)	0.004	64.1	0.198	0.345	0.863
	Unadjusted	9	1.37 (1.12-1.68)	0.225	24.6
Recurrence type	Overall	13	1.51 (1.21-1.87)	0.005	57.6	0.351	0.720	0.999
	Distant	5	1.64 (1.25-2.14)	0.247	26.1
Recruited	≥ 150	9	1.49 (1.26-1.69)	0.103	39.7	0.600	0.443	0.944
No.	< 150	9	1.78 (1.10-2.88)	0.007	61.8

^aP value for Q statistic of between-study heterogeneity in each subgroup; ^bP value for Q statistic of heterogeneity between the subgroups.