Clinical outcomes of transarterial chemoembolization plus radiofrequency ablation for treatment of 3.1-5.0 cm hepatocellular carcinoma / 中华普通外科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To compare the effectiveness of combined transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) plus radiofrequency ablation (RFA) with that of RFA alone in patients with singular medium-sized (3.1-5.0 cm) hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).Methods From Jan 2008 to May 2013,67 patients,each with a single medium-sized (3.1-5.0 cm) HCC,were treated with combined TACE and RFA,and 79 patients were treated with RFA alone.The local tumor control rate was compared between the two groups.Survival analysis was performed by Kaplan-Meier method,and the survival curve was compared by Log-rank test.The Univariate analysis and Multivariate Cox proportional hazards analysis were used to evaluate the relationship between different factors and long-term survival time.Results The 1-,3-,5-,and 7-year local tumor control rates were significantly higher in the TACE + RFA group (89.6％,62.7％,44.8％,and 30.9％,respectively) than in the RFA-alone group (72.2％,53.2％,24.1％,and 16.4％,respectively;x2 =6.035,P =0.014).Univariate analysis and Multivariate Cox proportional hazards analysis showed that treatment allocation,Child-Pugh class and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group scores were significant independent factors associated with patient survival.Conclusions The combination of TACE and RFA is safe and provides better local tumor control than RFA alone for the treatment of patients with sigular medium sized (3.1-5.0 cm) HCC.