Abstract
Several studies have reported a correlation between inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and an elevated risk of various cancers. However, the relationship between IBD and the incidence of liver cancer remains inconclusive. To address this issue, we conducted a meta-analysis to examine the association between IBD and the risk of liver cancer. A systematic search of the Cochrane Library, Embase, Web of Science, and PubMed databases was performed to identify relevant studies published up to December 22, 2024. Our meta-analysis included nine cohort studies, comprising a total of 7,305,655 participants. The pooled results indicated that patients with IBD had an increased risk of developing liver cancer (RR = 1.80; 95% CI: 1.21-2.68; p < 0.0001). An elevated risk was also observed among patients with Crohn's disease (CD) (RR = 1.78; 95% CI: 1.21-2.62), although this result did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.0972). Additionally, female IBD patients (RR = 2.47; 95% CI: 1.35-4.54; p = 0.0442) exhibited a significantly higher risk of liver cancer compared to male patients.