Prognostic impact of gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase to platelets ratio on hepatocellular carcinoma patients who have undergone surgery: a meta-analysis and systematic review

Abstract

Gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase to platelet ratio (GPR) is an inflammatory index and has been used as a prognostic index for a variety of tumors. However, the association between GPR and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) still remained controversial. Therefore, we performed a meta-analysis to determine the prognostic impact of GPR on HCC patients. PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, the Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Database, Chinese VIP Database, the US Clinical Trials Registry, and the Chinese Clinical Trials Registry were searched from inception to December 2022. A hazard ratio (HR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) was used to evaluate the association between preoperative GPR and the prognosis of HCC patients. Ten cohort studies including 4706 HCC patients were identified. This meta-analysis showed that higher GPRs were closely related to worse overall survival (HR: 1.79; 95% CI: 1.35–2.39; P < 0.001; I 2 = 82.7%), recurrence-free survival (HR: 1.30; 95% CI: 1.16–1.46; P < 0.001; I 2 = 0%), and disease-free survival (HR: 1.84; 95% CI: 1.58–2.15; P < 0.001; I 2 = 25.4%) in patients with HCC. This meta-analysis suggests that preoperative GPR appears to be significantly associated with the prognosis of HCC patients who have undergone surgery and may be an effective prognostic marker. Trial registration: PROSPERO: CRD42021296219.