Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is prone to recurrence following curative treatment. The purpose of the present study was to identify the predisposing factors of HCC recurrence following complete remission achieved by transarterial chemoembolization (TACE). A retrospective cohort study of 70 consecutive patients with HCC who underwent TACE as the initial treatment was conducted. The patients were divided into two groups according to their 1-year disease-free survival (DFS) status; the early recurrence group (ER group; n=32), with HCC recurring within 1 year of initial TACE; and the non-early recurrence group (NER group; n=38), who did not experience recurrence within 1 year. The parameters identified as significantly associated with DFS time on univariate analysis were aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase and α-fetoprotein levels, as well as the tumor number (P=0.003, P=0.027, P=0.002 and P=0.005, respectively). Multivariate analysis revealed that AST levels and tumor number were significantly associated with a shorter DFS period (P=0.009 and P=0.038, respectively). The Mantel-Haenszel test revealed a significant trend of decreasing DFS with increasing tumor number. Among the patients with HCC in the ER group, locoregional recurrence occurred more frequently in those who received TACE alone compared with those treated with TACE combined with radiofrequency ablation treatment. In summary, multinodularity of HCC is the most potent predictive factor for the recurrence of HCC within 1 year of initial TACE.
Keywords: early recurrence; hepatocellular carcinoma; transcatheter arterial chemoembolization; tumor number.