A patient with huge hepatocellular carcinoma who had a complete clinical response to p53 gene combined with chemotherapy and transcatheter arterial chemoembolization.

The prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is poor and current therapies are largely ineffective. Transcatheter arterial chemoembolization is a standard treatment option for patients with unresectable HCC, especially when combined with other therapies. We report a 62-year-old male with huge HCC. The patient was first treated with adenovirus-mediated wild-type p53 gene (Ad-p53, gendicine) combined with oxaliplatin (200 mg) and transcatheter arterial chemoembolization or transcatheter arterial chemotherapy for two cycles. Review showed tumor shrinkage and a decrease in alpha-fetoprotein. Oxaliplatin was stopped because of side effects. Then the patient was treated with a tumor feeding arterial injection of Ad-p53 (1 x 10 viral particles) twice and Ad-p53 (1 x 10 viral particles) followed by 5-fluorouracil (500-750 mg) six times through port-catheter system. We observed marked tumor shrinkage and sustained normal alpha-fetoprotein and liver function during a 614-day follow-up period.