Efficacy and Safety of Metronomic Capecitabine in Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Metronomic capecitabine has been found to be useful in several types of cancers such as pancreatic cancer, breast cancer, gastrointestinal cancers, nasopharyngeal carcinoma, and metastatic colorectal cancer. This unique systematic literature review and meta-analysis was undertaken to assess the effectiveness and safety of metronomic capecitabine as a treatment regimen for hepatocellular carcinoma.

A systematic search of major databases was performed. Eight studies that dealt with the use of metronomic capecitabine for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) were selected, seven were non-randomized control trials (n-RCTs), and one was a randomized control trial (RCT). Meta-analysis of these studies was performed using Review Manager v5.3 and STATA 15.1 software. The pooled prevalence of overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), overall response rate (ORR), grade 1–2 adverse events (grade 1–2 AEs), grade 3–4 adverse events (grade 3–4 AEs) was determined, including publication bias and sensitivity analysis.

Eight studies met the inclusion criteria, combining the pooled data of 476 patients from safety and efficacy studies. The pooled prevalence of disease control rate (DCR) and overall response rate (ORR) achieved with metronomic capecitabine was 36% (95% CI 32–41) and 7% (95% CI 5–9) respectively. The median progression-free survival (PFS) and median overall survival (OS) were 3.57 months (95% CI 3.29–3.85) and 11.75 months (95% CI 10.56–12.95) respectively. The incidence of grade 3–4 adverse events (grade 3–4 AEs) and grade 1–2 adverse events (grade 1–2 AEs) was 38% (95% CI 32–44) and 73% (95% CI 67–79) respectively.

This meta-analysis highlights metronomic capecitabine as a potential treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in the advanced stage. However, effective management of capecitabine’s side effects is essential.