[Studies on combination therapy with TAE and percutaneous ethanol injection therapy for unresectable hepatocellular...

We studied and analysed the effects of combination therapy with TAE and PEIT for unresectable HCC. The subjects were 28 patients (21 males, 7 females) with 31 tumors treated in the Department of Surgery, Osaka Teishin Hospital. The patients were divided into four groups on the basis of the tumor size (< 3 cm, 3-5 cm, 5-8 cm, > 8 cm). The therapeutic effect on the tumors was evaluated on the basis of the maximum reduction rate within 3 months after TAE and PEIT. The response rates after treatment were 87.5%, 60.0%, 25.0% and 0% for < 3 cm, 3-5 cm, 5-8 cm, and > 8 cm tumor size, respectively. The 50% survival period was 50.9 months. The 1-, 2-, 3- and 5-year survival rates were 92%, 76%, 52% and 32%, respectively. In the cases of over 8 cm, this combination therapy had no effects on the survival period. The findings of the present study suggest that the combination therapy was useful for the unresectable HCC of under 5 cm in diameter.