Objective To compare therapeutic effects of associating liver partition and portal vein ligation for staged hepatectomy (ALPPS) and transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) on patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. Methods Thirty-five patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma admitted in the Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery of Shiyan Taihe Hospital Affiliated to Hubei University of Medicine from August 1, 2014 to August 1, 2015 were randomly divided into ALPPS group and TACE group, in which 17 cases treated by the ALPPS and 18 cases treated by the TACE. The survival, changes of liver function and life quality, postoperative complications and mortality were compared in these two groups. The follow-up was performed by the telephone and the outpatient. Results ① The baselines such as the age, gender, diameter of tumor, complications had no significant differences in these two groups (P>0.05). ② The changes of liver function and life quality after operation in the ALPPS group were significantly better than those in the TACE group (P<0.05). ③ The complications after operation were observed in 5 cases (there were 2 cases of bile leakage, 1 case of intraabdominal bleeding, 1 case of peritoneal effusion, and 1 case of pulmonary infection) in the ALPPS group, which in 13 cases (there were 6 cases of nausea and vomiting, 4 cases of liver function damage, 2 cases of granulocytopenia, 1 case of fever) in the TACE group. The rate of the overall complications in the ALPPS group was significantly lower than that in the TACE group (5/17versus 13/18, P=0.018). ④ The overall survival in the the ALPPS group was significantly better than that in the TACE group (P=0.024). During follow-up period, the deaths happened in 3 cases duo to hepatocellular carcinoma and 1 case duo to traffic accident, 1 case was lost on month 8, 12 cases were still alive in the ALPPS group; the deaths happened in 10 cases duo to hepatocellular carcinoma, 1 case duo to coronary disease, and 1 case duo to cerebral infarction, 6 cases were still alive in the TACE group. Conclusion Preliminary results of limited cases in this study show that ALPPS has a better effect than TACE on patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma.
Objective To explore therapeutic effect of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) guided by contrast-enhanced ultrasound in patient with advanced primary liver cancer following transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE). Methods The patients with advanced primary liver cancer treated with the TACE firstly from January to December 2014 in this hospital were prospectively collected, then were randomly divided into a conventional ultrasound guided RFA group (control group) and contrast-enhanced ultrasound guided RFA group (study group). The complete ablation rate, liver function, serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) level, and 1-, 2-, and 3-year survival rates were observed in the two groups. Results A total of 42 patients with advanced primary liver cancer treated with the TACE were enrolled in this study, there were 21 patients in each group. ① There were no significant differences in the baseline data such as the gender, age, BCLC stage, AFP level, and Child grade of liver function between the two groups (P>0.05). ② All the treatments were completed according to the plan, no serious complications or treatment-related death happened. The complete ablation rate of the study group was significantly higher than that of the control group (χ2=5.717, P=0.017), and the AFP level was significantly lower than that of the control group (t=2.618, P=0.012). There was no significant difference in the Child grade of liver function between the 2 groups (P>0.05). ③ The rate of repeat RFA in the study group was significantly lower than that in the control group (χ2=4.434, P=0.035), and there was no significant difference in the TACE treatment rate between the two groups (χ2=1.659, P=0.197). ④ The survival rate of the study group was significantly better than that of the control group by comparing the survival curves (χ2=3.999, P=0.046). Conclusion Contrast-enhanced ultrasound guided RFA is superior to conventional ultrasound guided RFA in treatment of advanced primary liver cancer following TACE.
ObjectiveTo summarize the experience of combined treatment of conventional transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (cTACE) and drug-eluting-bead chemoembolization(D-TACE) in a case of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma with intrahepatic metastasis.MethodsA patient with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma who was admitted to The Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University in October 2018 was treated with TACE for three times.ResultsAfter MDT discussion, three interventional operations were performed on this patient in The Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University. CT examination after the first treatment with cTACE showed that lipiodol deposited in liver lesions and the lesions were more stable than before; after the second treatment with cTACE and D-TACE, CT examination showed more lipiodol deposited in the tumors, and the tumors were more limited and significantly reduced; after the third treatment with cTACE, CT examination showed that the tumors were effectively controlled and no progress was made. This patient was followed-up for 2 months after the fourth cTACE, tumors were effectively controlled and no progress occurred.ConclusionsIn advanced hepatocellular carcinoma with intrahepatic metastasis, TACE is the best treatment. Combination of D-TACE and cTACE can achieve better clinical efficacy.
ObjectiveTo summarize research progress of imaging methods in postoperative efficacy evaluating of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE).MethodsThe related literatures of imaging methods in postoperative efficacy evaluating of HCC after the TACE were searched in the PubMed, Web of Science, CNKI, and Wanfang Data databases, etc. The clinical efficacy, advantages and problems of different imaging were analyzed and summarized.ResultsThe contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) had the higher value in diagnosing of residual or recurrent lesion, but the observation of the multiple or larger lesion was limited on the CEUS. The contrast-enhanced computed tomogaphy (CECT) had the lower diagnostic value for the residual or recurrent lesions as compared with the CEUS due to the artifact of iodine oil deposition. However, the CT perfusion and gemstone spectral imaging parameters could help to predict postoperative efficacy, tumor residue, and tumor recurrence after the TACE. The combination of dynamic contrast enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI), functional and perfusion imaging had the better diagnostic value, and the liver function could be predicted by the DCE-MRI. The PET/CT had the excellent value in diagnosing of the residual or recurrent lesion and could be used in predicting of the patient’s survival after the TACE. The DSA was the reference standard in diagnosing of the residual or recurrent lesion after the TACE for the HCC patients, however, it had the disadvantages of invasiveness and side effect and the high operational requirements should be emphasized.ConclusionsImaging examinations including ultrasound, CT, MRI, PET/CT, and DSA are widely applied to evaluate curative effect and residual or recurrent lesion of HCC after TACE. However, principles and imaging methods of mentioned above diagnostic methods are inconsistent, as well as results of research are quite different, therefore, clinician should choose the best imaging method according to patient’s condition in diagnosis and treatment.
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.
ObjectiveTo summarize the research progress of four mainstream drug-eluting beads (DEB) in transcathete arterial chemoembolization (TACE) for hepatocellular carcinoma in recent years.MethodThrough retrieving relevant literatures at home and abroad, the physicochemical properties, pharmacokinetics, effectiveness, and safety of four mainstream DEBs were reviewed.ResultsThe current mainstream DEBs on the market had the characteristics of high drug loading rate and sustained release of drugs, which could reduce the adverse reactions after the embolization to a certain extent. The safety and tolerance of patients receiving DEB-TACE were slightly higher than those receiving traditional TACE (c-TACE). There were no serious complications after the DEB-TACE, but the short-term and long-term efficacies between the two methods were not significantly different.ConclusionsAt present, most studies believe that the safety and tolerance of DEB are slightly higher than that of c-TACE, but whether the former is more effective than the latter is still controversial at home and abroad, and more high-quality multicenter randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm it.
ObjectiveTo investigate the effect and prognosis of emergency hepatectomy and second stage hepatectomy after transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) in spontaneous rupture and bleeding of resectable primary liver cancer.MethodsA total of 42 patients with spontaneous rupture and bleeding of resectable primary liver cancer in this hospital from January 2010 to January 2016 were retrospectively reviewed. Among them 24 cases had accepted the emergency hepatectomy in 24 h–48 h after admission (emergency hepatectomy group, n=24), 18 cases had accepted the second stage hepatectomy in 1 week–2 weeks after the TACE (second stage hepatectomy group, n=18), the intraoperative blood loss and intraoperative blood transfusion volume, perioperative mortality, postoperative incidence of hepatic insufficiency, recurrence rate and abdominal metastasis rate within 1 year after the operation, 1- and 3-year survival rates were compared between the emergency hepatectomy group and the second stage hepatectomy group.ResultsThere was no significant difference in the preoperative general data between these two groups (P>0.050). The intraoperative blood loss and transfusion volume of the emergency hepatectomy group were significantly more than those of the second stage hepatectomy group (P=0.028, P=0.017). There were no significant differences in the perioperative mortality (P=0.489), incidence of hepatic insufficiency (P=1.000), 1- and 3-year survival rates (P=0.650, P=0.463) and 1-year recurrence rate (P=0.601) between these two groups. No intraperitoneal implantation metastasis was found in these two groups.ConclusionBoth emergency hepatectomy and second stage hepatectomy after TACE are safe and effective in treatment of spontaneous rupture and bleeding of resectable primary liver cancer, appropriate treatment should be selected according to the specific conditions of patients.
ObjectiveTo systematically evaluate efficacy and safety of transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) combined with Huaier granules in treatment of primary liver cancer (PLC).MethodsThe databases including the PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Wanfang Data, CNKI, VIP were searched to obtain the relevant literatures of Huaier granule combined with TACE therapy (Huaier+TACE group) and alone TACE therapy (TACE group) in the treatment of PLC. The short-term curative effects (objective response rate and disease control rate), 6 and 12-month survival rates, immune function change, and adverse reactions were extracted. The RevMan 5.3 software was applied to carry out the meta analysis.ResultsFifteen studies involving 1 781 cases were enrolled in this study, of which 876 cases underwent the Huaier+TACE, 905 underwent the TACE. The meta analysis results showed that the objective response rate and disease control rate, 6 and 12-month survival rates of the Huaier+TACE group were significantly more superior as compared with of the TACE group (P<0.05), the adverse reaction incidence had no significant difference (P>0.05). Compared with the TACE group, the CD4 +/CD8 + of the Huaier+TACE group was significantly improved (P<0.05).ConclusionFrom results of meta analysis, Huaier granule combined with TACE could improve therapeutic effect, increase survival rate, and improve life quality of PLC.
ObjectiveTo compare the value of apparent diffusion coefficients (ADCs) of MR-DWI at different b values in evaluating the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE).MethodsAll of 168 patients with HCC who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria and received the TACE for the first time in the Characteristic Medical Center of PAPF were collected retrospectively, who were divided into a stable group and progressive group according to the results of MRI evaluation at the 6th month after the TACE treatment. The clinical and imaging data of the two groups were compared before the TACE treatment. The Cox proportional hazard regression model was used to analyze the risk factors for the disease progression after the TACE treatment. The receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) was used to analyze the predicting of efficacy evaluation of TACE by the ADC values at different b values.ResultsCompared with the stable group, the proportions of hepatitis B cirrhosis history, portal vein tumor thrombus, and arteriovenous fistula were higher (P<0.05), and the BCLC stage and Child Pugh grade were worse (P<0.05), and the ADC values were higher (P<0.05) in the progressive group. The results of Cox analysis showed that the ADC values at b=600 and 800 s/mm2 before the TACE, history of hepatitis B cirrhosis, portal vein tumor thrombus, arteriovenous fistula, advanced BCLC stage and Child-Pugh grade were the risk factors for the progression at the 6th month after the TACE treatment. When the b value was 800 s/mm2, the ADC value had the highest efficacy in predicting the outcome of patients (area under ROC curve was 0.746), and the best diagnostic cut-off point was 1.20×10–3 mm2/s, the sensitivity was 73.3% and the specificity was 71.8%.ConclusionADC value of MR-DWI could predict progression after TACE in patients with HCC, and ADC value of 800 s/mm2 has a better predictive value for them.
ObjectiveTo summarize the research progress on the pathogenesis of ischemic bile duct injury after transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE).MethodThe recent studies on the incidence, pathological features and related mechanisms of ischemic bile duct injury and ischemic bile duct injury after TACE were reviewed.ResultsThe incidence of ischemic bile duct injury after liver TACE fluctuated greatly and was related to different chemoembolization methods. At present, the causes of ischemic bile duct injury were attributed to the bile duct ischemia caused by embolization and the toxic effects of chemotherapeutic drugs. The destruction of protective mechanism of bile duct epithelium and the expression of transforming growth factor-β might play an important role in ischemic bile duct injury.ConclusionsAfter liver TACE, in addition to the direct injury of bile duct caused by the toxic effects of ischemia and chemotherapy drugs, the damage of bile duct epithelial protection mechanism caused by ischemia and chemotherapy drugs makes the toxic effects of bile acids play a very important role in the ischemic bile duct injury. However, there is still no direct evidence of bile duct epithelial protection mechanism in ischemic bile duct injury after liver TACE. Further clarifying the role of bile duct epithelial protection mechanism in ischemic bile duct injury after liver TACE will be helpful to explore its prevention and treatment measures, and provide new insights for the further studies in future.