Background To determine the safety and efficacy of transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) combined with radiofrequency ablation (hereafter, TACE-RFA) in treating Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) Stage A or B (hereafter, BCLC A/B) hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients, and to explore the range of tumor sizes suitable for combination therapy. Methods This retrospective study assessed the consecutive medical records of HCC patients with BCLC A/B who received TACE-RFA or TACE from September 2009 to September 2018. Progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), therapeutic response, and complications were compared between the two groups. Results Among 2447 patients who received TACE-RFA or TACE, 399 eligible patients were enrolled in our study, including 128 patients in the TACE-RFA group and 271 patients in the TACE group. Compared with the TACE group, the PFS and OS rates of 1,3,5,8 years in the TACE-RFA group were significantly better, with higher objective tumor regression rate and better disease control rate. RFA treatment did not increase the risk of death in patients with HCC, and both liver subcapsular hematoma and bile duct injury were improved by symptomatic treatment.. Serum α-fetoprotein level and treatment method were important independent prognostic factors for OS, whereas albumin, hepatitis B and treatment method were important independent prognostic factors for PFS. Subgroup analysis showed that patients in the TACE-RFA group always showed better OS and PFS. Conclusions TACE-RFA had an advantage over TACE alone in prolonging PFS and improving OS in HCC patients with BCLC A/B, and can benefit patients regardless of tumor size.

Abstract Background:Transarterial chemoembolization (TACE), radiofrequency ablation (RFA), and iodine 125 seeds implantation are options treatments for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The aim of this study is to compare the efficacy of the combined treatment of TACE with iodine 125 seeds implantation (TACE-iodine 125) with TACE with RFA (TACE-RFA) in patients with early- and intermediate-stage HCC. Methods: The study included 112 patients who were diagnosed with early- and intermediate-stage HCC from January 1, 2014, to May 31, 2018. Among them, 38 patients were treated with TACE-Iodine 125, and 74 with TACE-RFA. The efficacy of the two treatment groups was retrospectively analyzed. To reduced the selective bias, a propensity score matching (PSM) analysis and inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) method were used to compare the outcomes between the two groups.Results: In the absence of PSM and IPTW, the median overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) of the TACE-RFA group were slightly longer than those of the TACE-Iodine 125 group (OS: 41 months vs. 36 months; PFS: 18 months vs. 15 months). However, there were no statistically significant differences in the median OS, PFS, and objective response rate (ORR) between the two groups (P > 0.05). After adjusting the age, gender, Child-Pugh class, Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stage, and Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), TACE-Iodine 125 treatment was not associated with a significant increasing the risks of death (HR: 0.763; 95%CI: 0.403,1.345, P = 0.320) and recurrence (HR: 1.020; 95%CI: 0.645,1.611, P = 0.934). After PSM, 35 matched pairs of patients were obtained, and there were no statistically significant differences in the median OS and PFS between the two groups. After IPTW, similar results presented.Conclusions: The combination of TACE with iodine 125 seeds implantation may represent an effective treatment for patients with early- and intermediate-stage HCC.

Abstract Background To compare the efficacy of the combination of transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) and iodine 125 seeds implantation (TACE-Iodine 125) with the combination of TACE and radiofrequency ablation (RFA) in the treatment of patients with early and intermediate hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods The study included 134 patients diagnosed with early and intermediate HCC from January 1, 2014, to May 31, 2018. Among them, 47 patients were treated with TACE-Iodine 125, and 87 with TACE-RFA and the efficacy of both treatments was analyzed. To reduced selective bias, propensity score matching (PSM) was used to compare the outcomes of the treatments. Results In the absence of PSM, the median overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) of the TACE-RFA group were slightly longer than those of the TACE-Iodine 125 group (OS: 42 months vs. 37 months; PFS: 18 months vs. 15 months). However, there was no significant difference in median OS, PFS, and the objective response rate (ORR) between the two groups (P>0.05). After adjusted for age, gender, liver resection, Child-Pugh class, Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stage and Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), TACE-Iodine 125 treatment was not associated with a significant increasing in risk of death (HR: 0.725; 95%CI: 0.423,1.241, P=0.241) and recurrence (HR: 1.008; 95%CI: 0.666,1.526, P=0.969). After PSM, 47 patient pairs were generated, and there was no significant difference in median OS and PFS between the two groups. Conclusions The combination of TACE and iodine 125 seeds implantation may represent an effective treatment for patients with early and intermediate HCC.

Backgroud: To evaluate the overall survival (OS) after transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) combined with apatinib in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and to identify the factors affecting patient survival. Methods: Fifty-one patients with HCC who received TACE combined with apatinib in our hospital from June 2015 to May 2017 were enrolled and followed up until May 2019. The OS and progression-free survival (PFS) were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Log-rank test and Cox regression model were used to determine the factors affecting the patients’ OS. Results: The median OS and PFS of the patients were 15 months and 10 months, respectively. The 1-, 2-, and 3-year survival rates were 62.7%, 23.5%, and 1.8%, respectively. Univariate survival analysis showed that patients with Child-Pugh A (P = 0.008), severe reduction rate of proper hepatic artery (P = 0.013), hand-foot syndrome (P = 0.006), secondary hypertension (P = 0.042), AFP< 400 ug/L (P = 0.076), and without ascites (P = 0.013) had a better OS. Multivariate analysis showed that hand-foot syndrome (P = 0.004), secondary hypertension (P = 0.034), and reduction rate of proper hepatic artery (P = 0.028) were independent predictors of better OS. Conclusions: TACE combined with apatinib is a promising treatment for advanced HCC. Hand-foot syndrome, secondary hypertension, and the reduction rate of proper hepatic artery were associated with a better OS.

Background To determine the safety and efficacy of transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) combined with radiofrequency ablation (hereafter, TACE-RFA) in treating Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) Stage A or B (hereafter, BCLC A/B) hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients, and to explore the range of tumor sizes suitable for combination therapy. Methods This retrospective study assessed the consecutive medical records of HCC patients with BCLC A/B who received TACE-RFA or TACE from September 2009 to September 2018. Progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), therapeutic response, and complications were compared between the two groups. Results Among 2447 patients who received TACE-RFA or TACE, 399 eligible patients were enrolled in our study, including 128 patients in the TACE-RFA group and 271 patients in the TACE group. Compared with the TACE group, the PFS and OS rates of 1,3,5,8 years in the TACE-RFA group were significantly better, with higher objective tumor regression rate and better disease control rate. RFA treatment did not increase the risk of death in patients with HCC, and both liver subcapsular hematoma and bile duct injury were improved by symptomatic treatment.. Serum α-fetoprotein level and treatment method were important independent prognostic factors for OS, whereas albumin, hepatitis B and treatment method were important independent prognostic factors for PFS. Subgroup analysis showed that patients in the TACE-RFA group always showed better OS and PFS. Conclusions TACE-RFA had an advantage over TACE alone in prolonging PFS and improving OS in HCC patients with BCLC A/B, and can benefit patients regardless of tumor size.