Follow-up study of combination treatment (TAE and PEIT) for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma

The subjects were 35 patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma. The patients were divided into a transcatheter arterial embolization group (TAE group, 18 cases) and a combination therapy group receiving both TAE and percutaneous ethanol injection therapy (TAE+PEIT group, 17 cases). The 50% survival period was 21.1 months for the TAE group and 37.8 months for the TAE+PEIT group (P < 0.05). The longest survival period in the TAE group was 89 months. In the TAE+PEIT group, one patient has survived for 59 months. The actuarial 1-, 2-, and 3-year survival rates for the TAE group were 82%, 45%, and 22%, respectively. For the TAE+PEIT group the rates were 83%, 64%, and 64%, respectively. The TAE+PEIT group showed a significantly higher survival rate in the 895- to 1,074-day period as compared with the TAE group (P < 0.05). Overall, the survival rate tended to be higher in the TAE-PEIT group (P < 0.1). The therapeutic responses of tumors were measured by the maximal reduction rate within 6 months of TAE and PEIT. In the TAE group, a PR was seen in only four cases. In the TAE+PEIT group, CRs and PRs were achieved significantly more frequently than in the TAE group. When the patients were divided into a responder group (CR, PR, and MR) and a nonresponder group (NC and PD), survival was significantly longer in the responder group. The findings of the present study suggest that the combination therapy was useful for improving the survival of patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma.