ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the prognosis and survival rate of the patients with Barcelona clinic liver cancer stage B hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) treatment. Methods During the period from Feb. 2007 to Jan. 2013 at authors’ hospital, a total of 197 patients with Barcelona clinic liver cancer stage B HCC were treated with TACE. The clinical data were retrospectively analyzed. All patients were followed up from Feb. 2007 to July 2013 by admission to hospital of by phone. Based on the clinical materials the prognosis and survival rate were analyzed. Results The median follow-up time was 12 (6- 77) months and the median survival time was 24 (2 - 77) months. The survival rate of patients with liver function of Child-Pugh class A was significantly higher than that of patients with liver function of Child-Pugh class B (35 months vs. 15 months, P< 0.01). The survival rate of patients with Barcelona stage B1 was significantly better than those of patients with Barcelona stage B2, B3 and B4, and the median survival time of patients with Barcelona stage B1, B2, B3 and B4 was 35, 25, 9 and 7 months respectively (P < 0.01). No significant differences in survival rate existed between patients with different age, sex, nation, history of hepatitis and AFP levels. Conclusion TACE treatment can significantly increase the survival rate of patients with Barcelona stage B hepatocellular carcinoma. Barcelona staging and Child-Pugh classification can predict the prognosis and survival rate of patients with HCC after TACE.