title: Association of transarterial chemoembolization with survival in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma.
abstract: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common types of cancer worldwide. Only a minority of HCC patients benefit from curative therapies, such as surgical resection, liver transplantation, or percutaneous treatment, since the majority of HCCs are diagnosed at intermediate or advanced stages. To determine whether transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) affects survival in patients with unresectable HCC, we conducted a case-controlled study, investigating 129 patients diagnosed with intermediate- or advanced-stage HCC, classified according to the Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer staging system. Of these 129 patients, 102 received TACE and 27 received symptomatic treatment alone. The primary follow-up endpoint was survival. The association of TACE with survival was estimated with the Kaplan-Meier method. Survival was significantly higher in the chemoembolization group compared to that in the symptomatic treatment group. The estimated 1-, 2- and 3-year survival rates were 61.8, 34.0 and 24.3% for the chemoembolization group and 51.9, 9.9 and 0% for the symptomatic treatment group (P<0.001). TACE was shown to significantly improve survival and is an effective form of treatment for patients with unresectable HCC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Zhejiang Cancer Hospital, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310022, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Yijishan Hospital of Wannan Medical College, Wuhu, Anhui 241001, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Lili
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sheng
authors.affiliation: Department of Interventional Therapy, Yijishan Hospital of Wannan Medical College, Wuhu, Anhui 241001, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Guoxiang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Interventional Therapy, Yijishan Hospital of Wannan Medical College, Wuhu, Anhui 241001, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Heping
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Interventional Therapy, Yijishan Hospital of Wannan Medical College, Wuhu, Anhui 241001, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xinyu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Interventional Therapy, Yijishan Hospital of Wannan Medical College, Wuhu, Anhui 241001, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xiaoxing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: Department of Interventional Therapy, Yijishan Hospital of Wannan Medical College, Wuhu, Anhui 241001, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xiaohua
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Interventional Therapy, Yijishan Hospital of Wannan Medical College, Wuhu, Anhui 241001, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Renguang
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pei
keywords: chemoembolization; survival; symptomatic treatment; unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma