Microvascular invasion (MVI) is an important predictor of metastatic tumour recurrence and is associated with adverse outcomes and poor prognosis in Hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients. The association between varying regimens of anti-viral drugs with the incidence of MVI in HBV-related HCC has been demonstrated, however, no meta-analysis of the available data has been conducted. Therefore, the current study sought to evaluate the association of preoperative antiviral therapy with incidence of microvascular invasion in HCC hepatitis virus patients. A systematic search of the literature was performed in MEDLINE/PubMed, Web of Science (WoS), and Scopus, up to January 2020. A random-effects model was used to estimate pooled odds ratios (ORs). Overall, six studies, with 4988 patients, met our inclusion criteria. The pooled OR of MVI in the patients who had preoperative antiviral therapy versus the patients who did not have antiviral therapy was; OR: 0.60, 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 0.49-0.73; I2 = 25%. In this study, a significant reduction in the OR of MVI was evident in patients who had anti-viral therapy.
Keywords: Anti-viral therapy; Hepatitis B; Hepatocellular carcinoma; Microvascular invasion.
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