Background & objective: Many clinic data showed that it is difficult to control primary liver carcinoma (PLC) by transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) alone due to existence of double blood supply of liver by hepatic artery and portal vein. This study was designed to evaluate the efficacy of transcatheter arterial chemoembolization combined with portal venous chemoembolization (PVCE) in the treatment of moderate and advanced stages of PLC.
Methods: Fifty-eight cases of moderate and advanced stages of PLC were treated with a combination of TACE and PVCE (TACE/PVCE group) and 118 patients with moderate and advanced stages of PLC were treated with TACE alone (TACE group).
Results: (1)The total response rates were 86.2% in TACE+PVCE group and 69.5% in TACE group. The remarkable response rates were 31.0 % in TACE/PVCE group and 13.6% in TACE group (P< 0.05). (2)The half-year survival rates were 93.1% in TACE/PVCE group and 72.0% in TACE group (P< 0.05). The 1-year survival rates were 43.1% in TACE/PVCE group and 51.7% in TACE group. The 4-year survival rates were 6.9% in TACE/PVCE group and 5.1% in TACE group (P >0.05). (3) Side effects included fever, bellyache, white blood cell drop, hypohepatia, jaundice,and ascites. The degree of liver damage was positively associated with the amount of iodized oil.
Conclusion: The combination of TACE and PVCE appears to promote the short-term efficacy but not the long-term efficacy, compared with TACE alone for patients with moderate and advanced PLC.