Purpose: By carrying out a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials that compared sorafenib or combinedchemotherapy with placebo or combined chemotherapy, the effectiveness of sorafenib in hepatocellular carcinomawas evaluated in the present study, which also provided clinical practice guidelines of evidence-based-medicine. Methods: We reviewed PubMed citations concerning sorafenib treating hepatocellular carcinoma in randomizedcontrolled trials from Jan 2000 to July 2012. All the literature was extracted by Cochrane systematic reviews andunderwent meta-analysis with RewMan 5.0 software. Results: Finally, four papers documenting randomizedcontrolled studies were included. Compared with controls, sorafenib was shown to significantly increase overallsurvival (OS), time to progression (TTP), and disease control rates (DCR), but not the time to symptom progression(TTSP) in hepatocellular carcinoma patients. The incidence of grade-III/IV adverse reactions, including handfoot-skin reactions, diarrhea, hypertension and skin rash or desquamation, in sorafenib treatment group washigher than that in controls. However, there was no significant difference in the incidence of hypodynamiabetween the two groups. Conclusions: Sorafenib exerts significant curative effects in hepatocellular carcinoma.
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