F. Florio et al., TREATMENT OF HEPATOCELLULAR-CARCINOMA - A SINGLE-CENTER EXPERIENCE, Cardiovascular and interventional radiology, 20(1), 1997, pp. 23-28
Purpose: The comparative efficacy of transcatheter arterial chemoembol
ization (TACE) and percutaneous ethanol injection (PEI) in the treatme
nt of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) was investigated. Methods: Two hu
ndred and sixty consecutive patients were retrospectively analyzed: 15
6 had received between one and six chemoembolization sessions at 3-mon
th intervals, 33 had had PEI, and the remaining 71 patients refused an
y treatment. The follow-up ranged from 3 to 36 months. Survival rates
were statistically analyzed by life-table analysis. Results: Patients'
survival was affected by the number of nodules and by the Child's and
Okuda's classes; no relationship was found between survival rates and
the histologic grade or vascular supply of the tumor. In the case of
a single lesion of Okuda's class I, TACE was more effective than PEI.
In multifocal HCC, TACE was better than no treatment in Okuda's class
I and Child's class A.Conclusion: We suggest TACE as the treatment of
choice in Child A or Okuda I patients with multifocal HCCs; it seems o
f little help in Child B-C or Okuda II-III patients.