Comparison of survival, safety, and efficacy after transarterial chemoembolization and radioembolization of Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer stage B-C hepatocellular cancer patients

Abstract

Although chemoembolization and radioembolization for BCLC Stage B-C patients have similar levels of safety and efficacy, they differ in OS. In this retrospective study, patients undergoing radioembolization had a longer survival rate.

Yttrium-90 transarterial radioembolization versus conventional transarterial chemoembolization for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Studies were excluded due to insufficient data and information ( n =2), cTACE combined with TARE (90Y) ( n =4), treatment either cTACE or TARE (90Y; n =2), DEB-TACE as treatment ( n =3), and non-clinical studies ( n =15). Finally, 11 articles met the inclusion criteria for our meta-analysis 13-23 . …”

“…All of the articles were published between 2009 and 2016 and included with nine observational studies 13,16-23 and two RCTs 14,15 . The locations of the studies included Germany, Spain, China, Egypt, Turkey, and the USA.…”

“…All nine observational studies were judged as high quality, based on the NOS 13,16-23 ( Figure 2 ). The risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration tool for two RCTs ( Figure 2 ).…”

“…Ten studies reported 1-year OS rates 13-21,23 and nine studies reported 2-year OS rates 13,14,16-21,23 . The fixed effects model was used to analyze 1-year OS rates ( P = 0.303, I 2 = 15.2%), and random effects models were adopted to analyze 2-year OS rates (overall P = 0.021, I 2 = 55.7%), since heterogeneity was present in this study.…”

The role of external beam radiotherapy in the treatment of hepatocellular cancer

“…In the radioembolization procedure, microspheres bonded with a radioisotope (yttrium-90 [Y-90]) are infused into the arteries that supply the tumor. 15,23 Retrospective reviews have reported comparable or improved OS with TARE versus TACE, [24][25][26] and a randomized trial reported a significantly longer median time to progression after TARE (>26 vs 6.8 months) but no difference in OS. 19 On the basis of liver explant pathology after radioembolization and subsequent transplantation, 61% of treated lesions (and 89% of lesions <3 cm) exhibited complete pathologic necrosis.…”