Background: Microvascular invasion (MVI) is a risk factor for tumor recurrence after hepatectomy in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients.
Objective: This study aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of postoperative adjuvant transarterial infusion chemotherapy (TAI) with the FOLFOX regimen for HCC patients with MVI.
Methods: In this prospective, phase III, randomized, open-label, controlled clinical trial, HCC patients with histologically confirmed MVI were randomly assigned (1:1) after hepatectomy to receive either one to two cycles of adjuvant TAI (AT group) or follow-up without any adjuvant treatment (FU group). The primary endpoint was disease-free survival (DFS), while secondary endpoints were overall survival (OS) and safety.
Results: Between June 2016 and April 2019, 127 patients were randomly assigned to the AT group (n = 63) or FU group (n = 64). Clinicopathological characteristics of the two groups were well-balanced. The 6-, 12-, and 18-month OS rates for the AT group were 100.0%, 97.7%, and 97.7%, respectively, and 94.5%, 89.6%, and 78.5% for the FU group, respectively. The 6-, 12-, and 18-month DFS rates for the AT and FU groups were 84.7%, 61.8%, and 58.7%, and 62.9%, 48.1%, and 38.6%, respectively. OS and DFS were significantly better in the AT group than in the FU group (p = 0.037 and 0.023, respectively). No patients in the AT group experienced grade 3 or more severe adverse events.
Conclusions: Adjuvant TAI after hepatectomy may bring survival benefits to HCC patients with MVI.
Trial registration: Trial number: NCT03192618.