Purpose: To establish whether segmental transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) treatment may improve the rates of survival in patients with compensated cirrhosis and inoperable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
Materials and methods: Fifty-six patients with compensated cirrhosis and inoperable HCC were treated with segmental TACE. One hundred forty treatments (mean, 2.5 per patient; 30-60 mg Epirubicin, 4-10 mL Lipiodol, and Gelfoam particles) were administered.
Results: During the 69-month study, 25 patients (45%) died of tumor progression, 12 (21%) of liver failure, nine (16%) of gastrointestinal hemorrhage, and three (5%) of other causes; seven patients (13%) are still alive. The 3-year rate of survival was 32%. Intention-to-treat analysis determined that patients with Child-Pugh class A disease (n = 44; 79%) or a single <5-cm HCC (n = 21; 37%) had a higher rate of survival than those with Child-Pugh class B disease (n = 12; 21%; P <.002) or a larger HCC (n = 35; 63%; P <.02) and patients (n = 41) who were treated with more than one course of TACE had a higher rate of survival than those who were treated with a single TACE procedure (n = 15; P <.0003). Multivariate analysis was used to predict rates of survival by number of treatments (hazard ratio, 0.6; CI, 0.48-0.86; P <.004), Child-Pugh class (hazard ratio, 2.8; CI, 1.41-5.74; P <.003), and tumor size (hazard ratio, 3.8; CI, 1.81-8.01; P <.001). The 3-year rate of survival in patients with Child-Pugh class A disease and a < or =5-cm-HCC (n = 16) was 56%. This result was similar to the 50% 3-year rate of survival in untreated historic controls with similar characteristics.
Conclusion: The rate of survival in patients with compensated cirrhosis and inoperable HCC did not appear to improve with use of TACE therapy.