Abstract
Aim: To investigate the efficacy of surgery combined with post-operative trancatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) for intermediate hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
Methods: A total of 102 patients were divided into two groups: Radical liver resection only (LR group, 52 patients) and radical liver resection combined with post-operative TACE (combined group, 50 patients). Survival analysis was performed using the Kaplan–Meier method. Univariate and multivariate analysis were performed using Cox proportional analysis to detect prognostic factors of survival outcomes.
Results: The 1-, 3- and 5-year survival rate in the LR group were significantly lower compared with those in combined group (p = .019). The 1-, 3- and 5-year progression-free survival rate in the LR group were also lower than those in the combined group (p = .048). Multivariate analysis detected that tumor number (multiple vs single), tumor distribution (both lobes vs semi-liver), treatment strategy (surgery + TACE vs surgery) were independent factors for OS (HR values were 2.307, 3.155 and 0.526, respectively) and PFS (HR values were 1.938, 3.425 and 0.633, respectively; p < .05).
Conclusion: In conclusion, surgery combined with post-operative TACE may improve survival outcomes for patients with intermediate HCC. Tumor number, tumor distribution and treatment strategy (surgery + TACE) were significantly associated with the prognosis of patients with intermediate HCC.
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Acknowledgement
The authors would like to thank the support from The Department of Pathology of Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College.
Disclosure statement
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.