title: Efficacy and safety of oral branched-chain amino acid supplementation in patients undergoing interventions for hepatocellular carcinoma: a meta-analysis.
abstract: Most hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients have complications, including cirrhosis and malnutrition. The efficacy of dietary supplementation with oral branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) in HCC patients undergoing interventions has not been confirmed. Relevant publications on the efficacy and safety of oral BCAA supplementation for HCC patients undergoing anti-HCC interventions through September, 2014 were searched for identification in the PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library databases. The pooled risk ratio (RR) and standardized mean difference (SMD) were used to assess the supplementation effects. A total of 11 eligible studies (974 patients in total) were evaluated and included in our analysis. Oral BCAA supplementation helped to maintain liver reserve with higher serum albumin (SMD = 0.234, 95% CI: 0.033-0.435, P = 0.022), and lower rates of ascites (RR = 0.545, 95% CI: 0.316-0.938, P = 0.029) and edema (RR = 0.494, 95% CI: 0.257-0.952, P = 0.035) than in the control group. BCAA supplementation seemed to be effective in improving mortality, especially in Child-Pugh class B patients, but the efficacy was not confirmed. Apparent effects were not found in improving HCC recurrence, total bilirubin, ALT, or AST. BCAA supplementation was relatively safe without serious adverse events. BCAA supplementation may be clinically applied in improving liver functional reserve for HCC patients and further improving the quality of life.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Nutrition, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, 74 Linjiang Road,Central District, Chongqing, 400010, PR China. chulingcclc@163.com.
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Nutrition, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, 74 Linjiang Road,Central District, Chongqing, 400010, PR China. yaqinchenyqc@163.com.
authors.forename: Yaqin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Nutrition, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, 74 Linjiang Road,Central District, Chongqing, 400010, PR China. yidaxiwei@126.com.
authors.forename: Xiwei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Nutrition, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, 74 Linjiang Road,Central District, Chongqing, 400010, PR China. lh19870306@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Nutrition, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, 74 Linjiang Road,Central District, Chongqing, 400010, PR China. zhanghongmin01@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Hongmin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Nutrition, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, 74 Linjiang Road,Central District, Chongqing, 400010, PR China. gongjiaojiao@163.com.
authors.forename: Jiaojiao
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Nutrition, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, 74 Linjiang Road,Central District, Chongqing, 400010, PR China. shashashensss@163.com.
authors.forename: Shasha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Nutrition, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, 74 Linjiang Road,Central District, Chongqing, 400010, PR China. ustcyww@163.com.
authors.forename: Wenwei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Nutrition, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, 74 Linjiang Road,Central District, Chongqing, 400010, PR China. hhd0126@163.com.
authors.forename: Huaidong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hu
mesh_terms: D000597:Amino Acids, Branched-Chain / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality; D016208:Databases, Factual; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D004353:Drug Evaluation, Preclinical; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
chemical_list: D000597:Amino Acids, Branched-Chain