Transcatheter arterial chemoembolization in the treatment of hepatoblastoma

The prognosis of hepatoblastoma is poor unless the tumor is completely resected. Various types of chemotherapy have been developed to increase its resectability. Recently, transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) has been developed for the treatment of unresectable adult hepatoma with favorable results. The authors applied this procedure to hepatoblastoma in infants and children.

TACE was performed in eight hepatoblastoma cases. After an intraarterial catheter was inserted into the main feeding artery of the tumor, injection of adriamycin or THP-adriamycin (20 to 30 mg/m2) dispersed in lipiodol and cisplatin (40 to 60 mg/m2) followed by embolization using Gelfoam pieces was performed. Effects of TACE were evaluated according to shrinkage of tumor mass on imaging examinations, alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels, and pathological findings of the surgical specimens 4 weeks after TACE.

A marked reduction in tumor size associated with a decrease in AFP level occurred 1 month after the treatment. Tumor shrinkage ranged from 0.9% to 45.0% with a mean value of 25.8%. AFP levels decreased by 0.2% to 11.9% with a mean level of 4.6% from initial levels. In addition, there was no marked chemotherapeutic agent-induced toxicity noted during the observation period. Resection of the tumors was performed safely after TACE in all cases. Pathological examination showed massive necrosis in the surgical specimens, and the mean percentage of necrotic area within the tumor was 71.1%. Two patients died of extensive lung metastasis 2 months and 3 years after the operation, respectively. The remaining six were doing well and free of disease at a mean follow-up period of 50 months.

TACE is an effective, safe, and useful method for the initial treatment of hepatoblastoma.