Entecavir vs Tenofovir in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Prevention in Chronic Hepatitis B Infection: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

INTRODUCTION

Entecavir (ETV) and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) are recommended as first-line therapies for chronic hepatitis B (CHB) infection. Although both drugs reduce hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) risk, their comparative effectiveness remains controversial. We aimed to determine whether TDF is superior to ETV in preventing HCC.

METHODS

PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library from inception until June 9, 2020, were searched according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Key terms included entecavir, tenofovir, and hepatocellular carcinoma. The adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) were pooled using a random effects model. Heterogeneity among studies was assessed by the Cochran Q test and I.

RESULTS

Thirteen observational studies (4 of which were conference abstracts) were included with 85,008 patients with CHB (ETV: 56,346; TDF: 28,662). TDF was associated with a lower HCC risk (adjusted HR [aHR]: 0.81; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.67-0.99). This beneficial effect was present in cirrhotic patients (aHR: 0.73; 95% CI: 0.62-0.85) and retrospective cohort studies using electronic data sets (aHR: 0.63; 95% CI: 0.51-0.78). However, this beneficial effect did not reach statistical significance for noncirrhotic patients (aHR: 0.83, 95% CI: 0.51-1.35) and retrospective/prospective cohort studies using clinical records (aHR: 0.97; 95% CI: 0.80-1.18).

DISCUSSION: TDF was associated with a lower HCC risk compared with ETV among patients with CHB, particularly cirrhotic patients. Further prospective large-scale studies with longer follow-up periods were required to identify specific subgroups that will benefit most from TDF.