Background/aim: To evaluate the safety and effectiveness of superselective ablative chemoethanol embolization (SACE) for the treatment of patients with recurrent single hepatocellular carcinoma (rHCC).
Materials and methods: This retrospective study included 22 patients (19 men, median age 63 [range 38-86 y]) with Child-Pugh class of A/B/C (16/3/3) that underwent SACE between January and June 2023 for recurrent single HCCs measuring ≤ 5 cm in diameter using a mixture of 99% Ethanol and ethiodized oil/doxorubicin emulsion. The primary endpoint was the 6-month tumor response, and the secondary endpoints were the 1-month tumor response and treatment-related safety. This study was approved by our institutional review board, and the requirement for informed consent was waived.
Results: SACE was successfully performed in 22 (95.2%) patients. The complete response rates at 1-month and 6-month after treatment were 100% and 83.3%, respectively. At 6-month, local tumor progression occurred in one patient and intrahepatic distant metastasis was found in 6 (30%) patients. No 6-month mortalities were reported. No adverse events greater than grade 2 or laboratory deteriorations were observed. Biliary complications or liver abscesses were not observed.
Conclusion: SACE for a single rHCC was highly effective in achieving a favorable 6-month tumor response and showed acceptable adverse events. However, further prospective studies are required to verify these findings.
Keywords: Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer; Chemoembolization; Ethanol; Hepatocellular carcinoma.