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©The Author(s) 2026. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastrointest Oncol. Jan 15, 2026; 18(1): 113816
Published online Jan 15, 2026. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v18.i1.113816
Published online Jan 15, 2026. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v18.i1.113816
Efficacy of regorafenib in the treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Zhang Cheng, The Fourth Clinical College of Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang 453000, Henan Province, China
Ai-Min Yue, Department of Surgical Oncology, Xinxiang Central Hospital, The Fourth Clinical College of Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang 453000, Henan Province, China
Author contributions: Cheng Z and Yue AM contributed to the conceptualization and methodology of the study; Cheng Z was responsible for data curation, formal analysis, software development, and resource acquisition, the original draft writing, review and editing of the manuscript. All authors have read and approved the final version of the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
PRISMA 2009 Checklist statement: The authors have read the PRISMA 2009 Checklist, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the PRISMA 2009 Checklist.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Ai-Min Yue, MD, Department of Surgical Oncology, Xinxiang Central Hospital, The Fourth Clinical College of Xinxiang Medical University, No. 56 Jinsui Avenue, Xinxiang 453000, Henan Province, China. yueaimin2025@163.com
Received: September 4, 2025
Revised: October 12, 2025
Accepted: November 24, 2025
Published online: January 15, 2026
Processing time: 130 Days and 21.1 Hours
Revised: October 12, 2025
Accepted: November 24, 2025
Published online: January 15, 2026
Processing time: 130 Days and 21.1 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: This study presents a comprehensive synthesis of current evidence regarding regorafenib’s clinical performance as a second-line treatment in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. Utilizing data from nine eligible studies, our meta-analysis provides an updated assessment of survival outcomes and tumor response metrics. Notably, regorafenib demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in overall survival compared to control groups, while objective tumor response rates did not show superiority, particularly when compared to immunotherapies such as nivolumab. Our results highlight regorafenib’s survival benefit and its role within a competitive therapeutic landscape.