title: Transarterial chemoembolization combined with sorafenib for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma with hepatic vein tumor thrombus.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare the treatment outcomes of sorafenib plus transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) vs TACE alone in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and hepatic vein tumor thrombus (HVTT).
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty patients who were initially diagnosed with HCC and HVTT and received TACE combined with sorafenib during February 2009 to October 2013 were included in the study. To minimize selection bias, these patients were compared with 60 case-matched controls selected from a pool of 81 patients (in a 1:3 ratio) who received TACE alone during the same period. The primary end point was overall survival (OS). The secondary end points were time to progression, disease control rate, and adverse events.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After a median follow-up period of 12.5 months (range, 1.03-44.23 months), the OS of the combined group was found to be significantly higher compared with the monotherapy group (14.9 vs 6.1 months, P=0.010). The time to progression was found to be significantly longer in the combined group (4.9 vs 2.4 months, P=0.016). Univariate and multivariate analyses revealed that the treatment allocation was an independent predictor of OS.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Sorafenib plus TACE was well tolerated and was more effective in treating patients with advanced HCC and HVTT. Future trials with prospective larger samples are required to validate these results.
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepatobiliary Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center; State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou.
authors.forename: Yong-Fa
authors.initials: YF
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepatobiliary Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center; State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepatobiliary Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center; State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou.
authors.forename: Jia-Hong
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepatobiliary Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center; State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepatobiliary Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center; State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou.
authors.forename: Pei-En
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Jian
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Shenzhen Shajing Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Shenzhen, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Cheng-Zuo
authors.initials: CZ
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepatobiliary Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center; State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou.
authors.forename: Xiao-Ping
authors.initials: XP
authors.lastname: Zhong
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepatobiliary Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center; State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou.
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepatobiliary Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center; State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou.
authors.forename: Rong-Ping
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Guo
keywords: adverse events; hepatic vein tumor thrombus; hepatocellular carcinoma; prognosis