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Large primary hepatocellular carcinoma: Transarterial chemoembolization monotherapy versus combined transarterial chemoembolization‐percutaneous microwave coagulation therapy
Author(s) -
Xu LinFeng,
Sun HongLiang,
Chen YaoTing,
Ni JiaYan,
Chen Dong,
Luo JiangHong,
Zhou JingXing,
Hu RenMei,
Tan QiYun
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of gastroenterology and hepatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.214
H-Index - 130
eISSN - 1440-1746
pISSN - 0815-9319
DOI - 10.1111/jgh.12088
Subject(s) - medicine , hepatocellular carcinoma , transcatheter arterial chemoembolization , percutaneous , retrospective cohort study , radiology , liver function , surgery , gastroenterology
Background and Aim To evaluate the clinical benefits of transarterial chemoembolization ( TACE ) monotherapy or TACE combined with percutaneous microwave coagulation therapy ( PMCT ) and the long‐term survival rate of patients with large primary hepatocellular carcinoma ( HCC ) treated with these techniques. Methods This is a retrospective study involving 136 patients with unresectable large HCC (189 tumor nodules, ≥ 5.0 cm in diameter) admitted to S un Y at‐ S en U niversity M emorial H ospital ( G uangzhou, C hina) between J anuary 2004 and D ecember 2011. The median follow‐up time was 41 months (range, 6–96 months). Of these patients, 80 patients received TACE monotherapy and 56 patients received TACE combined with PMCT . The median interval between treatments and overall survival ( OS ) were hierarchically analyzed using log–rank tests. Results All patients successfully underwent TACE alone or TACE with PMCT with no serious complications. The median survival time was 13 months (range, 3–84 months) for the TACE group and 25 months (range, 7–96 months) for the TACE‐PMCT group. The 1‐year, 3‐year, and 5‐year OS rates were 62.5%, 17.5%, and 5.0% in the TACE group, respectively. In contrast, in the TACE‐PMCT group, the 1‐year, 3‐year, and 5‐year OS rates were 87.5%, 50.0%, and 10.0%, respectively. This difference was statistically significant between the groups ( P < 0.001). Conclusions TACE combined with PMCT had advantages in prolonging OS with satisfying time to progression and improving liver function in patients with large unresectable HCC . The results suggest that further prospective studies are required to confirm the findings of this study.