ObjectiveTo explore transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) influences on prognosis of patients with BCLC stage 0–A hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).MethodsThe clinicopathologic data of BCLC stage 0–A HCC patients underwent the radical resection in the Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University from January 2006 to June 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. These patients were divided into a preoperative TACE treatment group (PTT group, n=365) and a directly surgical resection group (DSR group, n=365). The Kplan-Meier method was used to compare the overall survival (OS) and disease free survival (DFS) between the two groups. The Cox proportional hazard model was used to analyze whether the preoperative TACE was an independent factor affecting the prognosis of patient with BCLC stage 0–A HCC.ResultsA total of 465 patients with BCLC stage 0–A HCC were enrolled, including 365 patients in the DSR group and 100 patients in the PTT group. The baseline data of the two groups were similar（P>0.050）. In the cohort, the 1-, 3-, 5-, 10-year OS rates and DFS rates were 95.3%, 83.5%, 74.3%, 56.8% and 88.0%, 63.8%, 51.1%, 36.4%, respectively in the DSR group, which were 92.7%, 72.9%, 52.3%, 35.3% and 78.1%, 54.2%, 40.4%, 31.2%, respectively in the PTT group. The Kplan-Meier survival analysis showed that the OS and DFS in the DSR group were significantly better than those in the PTT group (P=0.009, P=0.033). The multivariate Cox proportional hazard model analysis showed that the preoperative TACE was the independent risk factor for the poor prognosis in the patients with BCLC stage 0–A HCC [ HR=1.389, 95% CI (1.158, 2.199), P=0.021].ConclusionsFor patients with BCLC stage 0–A HCC, preoperative TACE doesn’t improve patient’s prognosis and might reduce survival rate. If there is no special reason, direct surgery should be performed.