Background
To evaluate the prognostic value of the pre-treatment aspartate transaminase (AST)/alanine transaminase (ALT) ratio in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients receiving radiofrequency ablation (RFA)/microwave ablation (MWA) combined with simultaneous TACE.
Methods
The data for 117 patients were retrospectively analyzed in this study. The endpoint of prognosis was overall survival (OS). The Youden index was used to choose the optimal cut-off value of the pre-treatment AST/ALT ratio for OS prediction. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to identify independent risk factors, then integrated to establish the nomogram.
Results
The AST/ALT ratio cut-off value for OS prediction was 0.89, and patients with a higher AST/ALT ratio had poorer OS. The median OS for the high-value AST/ALT group was not reached, while the median OS for the low-value AST/ALT group was 48.5 months (P = 0.0047). The univariate and multivariate analysis showed that AST/ALT ratio, AFP, and tumor numbers were independent prognostic indicators for OS. The integrated nomogram showed higher predictive accuracy for OS (C-index 0.674, 95%CI: 0.600–0.748).
Conclusions
The preoperative AST/ALT ratio could be a prognostic indicator for HCC patients receiving thermal ablation combined with simultaneous TACE.
ObjectiveThis retrospective study compares the clinical results of cone beam CT (CBCT)-guided thermal ablation with those of helical tomotherapy in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients with pulmonary metastases.MethodsA total of 110 patients undergoing thermal ablation or helical tomotherapy for pulmonary metastases from April 2014 to December 2020 were included in the study. The endpoints were local tumor progression-free survival (LTPFS), overall survival (OS), and complications. Univariate and multivariate analyses using the Cox proportional hazard model were conducted to identify independent factors (univariate: P < 0.1; multivariate: P < 0.05). The Kaplan–Meier method was used to calculate the LTPFS and OS rates.ResultsThe results of 106 patients were taken into the final analysis. The 1- and 3-year LTPFS rates were 50 and 19% for the thermal ablation group and 65 and 25% for the helical tomotherapy group. The median LTPFS in the thermal ablation group was 12.1 months, while it was 18.8 months in the helical tomotherapy group (P = 0.25). The 1- and 3-year OS rates were 75 and 26% for the thermal ablation group and 77 and 37% for the helical tomotherapy group. The median OS was 18.0 months in the thermal ablation group and 23.4 months in the helical tomotherapy group (P = 0.38). The multivariate analyses found that α-fetoprotein (AFP) at <400 ng/ml (P = 0.003) was significantly associated with better LTPFS. Tumor number <3 and AFP <400 ng/ml were favorable prognostic factors for OS. There were no grades 3–5 adverse events in both groups. Grade 2 was recorded in three patients (4.8%) in the thermal ablation group and two patients (4.7%) in the helical tomotherapy group.ConclusionsFor pulmonary metastases from HCC, CBCT-guided thermal ablation and helical tomotherapy provided comparable clinical effects and safety.
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