title: Challenges in combining antiangiogenic therapy with transarterial chemoembolization for hepatocellular carcinoma.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The combination of systemic antiangiogenic therapy and transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) for the treatment of unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the subject of several ongoing clinical trials. We present a series of patients treated with sorafenib and TACE at our institution, highlighting the technical challenges of combining these two modalities of treatment.
  
  
  METHODS
  We retrospectively identified patients with HCC treated with TACE and sorafenib at our institution.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Five patients were treated with the combination of TACE and sorafenib given off-protocol based on preliminary reports in the literature. The first four patients started sorafenib 7 days prior to TACE resulting in intratumoral vascular pruning and poor visualization of lesions on angiography. This was managed by either superselective angiography or lobar TACE. The fifth patient stopped sorafenib 7 days prior to TACE with full visualization of multiple hypervascular lesions on angiography prior to embolization.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our observations suggest that the biologically preferable strategy of continuous antiangiogenic therapy should be weighed against the possibility of suboptimal TACE due to poor visualization of lesions on angiography and safety.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology Section of Interventional Radiology.
authors.forename: Ali A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Haydar
authors.affiliation: Divison of Oncology.
authors.forename: Deborah
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mukherji
authors.affiliation: Divison of Surgery American University of Beirut Beirut, Lebanon.
authors.forename: Walid
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Faraj
authors.affiliation: Divison of Surgery American University of Beirut Beirut, Lebanon.
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Khalifeh
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology Section of Interventional Radiology.
authors.forename: Bedros
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Taslakian
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology Section of Interventional Radiology.
authors.forename: Zeinab Abou
authors.initials: ZA
authors.lastname: Yehia
authors.affiliation: Divison of Oncology.
authors.forename: Sally
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Temraz
authors.affiliation: Section of Interventional Radiology.
authors.forename: Karen T
authors.initials: KT
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.affiliation: Section of Gastrointestinal Oncology Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center New York, NY ; Department of Medicine Weill Medical College at Cornell University New York, NY.
authors.forename: Ghassan K
authors.initials: GK
authors.lastname: Abou-Alfa
authors.affiliation: Divison of Oncology.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shamseddine