BackgroundWe aimed to investigate treatment response, survival profiles, safety profiles, and predictive factors of drug‐eluting beads‐transarterial chemoembolization (DEB‐TACE) with CalliSpheres® Microspheres (CSM) in treating Chinese hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients.MethodsA total of 66 HCC patients about to receive DEB‐TACE with CSM therapy were consecutively enrolled in this prospective cohort study. Treatment response was recorded. Besides, progression‐free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were also recorded. All adverse events including pain, nausea, vomiting, fever, and liver function damage were recorded during hospitalization.Results37.9% of patients achieved complete response (CR) and 81.8% of patients achieved an objective response rate (ORR). For survival, mean PFS and OS were 13.7 (11.7‐15.8) months and 18.8 (95% CI: 16.3‐21.2) months, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that a number of nodules ≥2 was an independent factor for worse CR; moreover, multivariate Cox's regression analysis disclosed that largest sample size ≥5 cm was an independent factor for shorter PFS, and Child‐Pugh B and BCLC stage B/C were independent predictive factors for unfavorable OS. As to AEs, numbers of patients suffered liver function damage, pain, nausea, vomiting, and fever were 29 (43.9%), 27 (40.9%), 22 (33.3%), 13 (19.7%), and 37 (56.1%), respectively.ConclusionDrug‐eluting beads‐transarterial chemoembolization with CSM is an effective and tolerated treatment for Chinese HCC patients, and number of nodules ≥2, largest nodule size ≥5 cm, Child‐Pugh stage B, and BCLC stage B/C correlates with unfavorable prognosis.

BackgroundsAs a new oral chemotherapy drug, TAS-102 is currently recommended as the third-line treatment for metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). Recently, studies have reported the efficacy of TAS-102 combined with bevacizumab in colon cancer patients after standard treatment fails. Here, we evaluated the efficacy and safety of TAS-102 combined with bevacizumab versus TAS-102 as a single agent by a systematic review and a meta-analysis.MethodsPubMed, Web of Science and Cochrane libraries were searched. Studies involving bevacizumab combined with TAS-102 in mCRC were included. Study characteristics (author, year of publication, country et al.), efficacy (disease control rate(DCR), progression-free survival(PFS), overall survival(OS)) and adverse effects were extract from studies. Forest plots were created based on Cox model analysis.ResultsAfter screening 550 studies, a total of 3 studies were included, which compared the safety and effectiveness of TAS-102 with or without bevacizumab. Analysis based on Cox regression showed that the combined treatment group had advantages in 6-month (OR= 2.93, 95% CI: 1.72 to 5.00, P<0.0001), 12-month(OR= 2.18, 95% CI: 1.24 to 3.81, P=0.006), and 18-month (OR=3.08, 95% CI: 1.34 to 7.12, P=0.008) OS. The combined treatment group demonstrated superiority in 6-month PFS rates (OR= 2.50, 95% CI: 1.18 to 5.31, P=0.02). The incidence of thrombocytopenia in the dual-drug treatment group was higher (OR= 1.96, 95% CI: 1.14 to 3.36 P=0.01). The proportion of serious adverse events were similar in tow groups (OR= 1.01, 95% CI: 0.76 to 1.34 P=0.93).ConclusionBevacizumab combined with TAS-102 could improve the prognosis of patients with mCRC who have failed standard treatment. In terms of side effects, the addition of bevacizumab did not increase serious adverse reactions, but the occurrence of thrombocytopenia was worth noting.

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