Selective internal radiation therapy in older patients with hepatocellular carcinoma: a retrospective analysis

Selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT) is applied to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a disease with increased incidence in the elderly. However, SIRT has rarely been specifically studied in elderly population. The aim of this study was to investigate efficacy and safety of SIRT in elderly HCC patients.

We studied retrospectively data from patients treated with SIRT for HCC. Clinical and laboratory data were retrieved. We used 70-years old as threshold between younger and elderly populations, to compare outcomes.

A total of 222 patients treated with SIRT for HCC were studied, of which 134 patients were younger and 88 older. Median overall survival (OS) was not significantly different between younger and elderly group: 15.6 months (95% CI, 11.7-19.5) and 14.8 months (95% CI, 9.4-20.3) (P = 0.86). Age was not associated with OS in multivariable analysis, with a Hazard ratio of 1.09 (95% CI, 0.82-1.45, P = 0.55). Results of progression-free survival and responses were also similar in both groups. Toxicities were similar between the two groups, including the occurrence of radioembolization-induced liver disease (11.5 vs. 11.4%, P = 0.97).

SIRT appears to be a well-tolerated treatment with the same efficacy in elderly compared to younger patients in HCC. Our study is the first to study its impact with glass microspheres. This warrants confirmation in large prospective studies.