title: Pre-, peri-, and postoperative oral administration of branched-chain amino acids for primary liver cancer patients for hepatic resection: a systematic review.
abstract: Pre-, peri-, and postoperative oral administration of branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) to patients with primary liver cancer (PLC) during hepatic resection (HR) remains controversial. The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of this practice. Seven literature databases were systematically searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that reported pre-, peri-, and postoperative oral administration of BCAA for PLC patients during HR. Three RCTs were included in a meta-analysis in which risk ratios (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated. The 2 groups showed similar recurrence rates (RR = 1.03, 95% CI 0.78 to 1.36) and similar overall survival (RR = 0.91, 95% CI 0.71 to 1.18). Adverse events related to oral administration of BCAA were more than the control group, including nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal distension, abdominal pain, and hypertension. However, all adverse reactions disappeared after symptomatic treatment. The available evidence suggests that although pre-, peri-, and postoperative oral BCAA for patients with PLC is safe, it is of questionable clinical value. More RCTs are warranted to explore this question definitively.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery , The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China, and Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The Seventh Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University , Wuzhou , China.
authors.forename: Jianyuan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Meng
authors.forename: Jianhong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhong
authors.forename: Hanguang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Wenhe
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhong
authors.forename: Zhihong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Yuanming
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xu
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000597:Amino Acids, Branched-Chain / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001663:Bilirubin / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D017567:Karnofsky Performance Status; D007902:Length of Stay; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality* / Q000601:surgery*; D011184:Postoperative Period; D057234:Preoperative Period; D012709:Serum Albumin / Q000032:analysis; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000597:Amino Acids, Branched-Chain; D012709:Serum Albumin; D001663:Bilirubin