Han Xiao1, Ze-Bin Chen2, Hui-Lin Jin2, Bin Li3, Li-Xia Xu1, Yu Guo4, Shu-Ling Chen5, He-Ping Li6, Zhen-Wei Peng3,6, Jing-Xian Shen7. 1. Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University Guangzhou 510080, China. 2. Department of Liver Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University Guangzhou 510080, China. 3. Clinical Trials Unit, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University Guangzhou 510080, China. 4. Department of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University Guangzhou 510080, China. 5. Division of Interventional Ultrasound, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University Guangzhou 510080, China. 6. Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University Guangzhou 510080, China. 7. Department of Medical Imaging, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center 651 Dongfeng Road East, Guangzhou, China.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma (rHCC) patients with microvascular invasive (MVI) positive at first resection usually had poorly differentiated tumors and worse survivals. The optimal treatment for this population remains to be elucidated. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 319 rHCC patients with MVI-positive at first resection from June, 2009 to June, 2017. Survival and costs between curative treatments [re-resection (RR) and radiofrequency ablation (RFA)] and transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) were compared. Subgroup comparisons were made in patients in Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stage 0-A and BCLC stage B-C, respectively. A one-to-one propensity score matching (PSM) was used to diminish bias. RESULTS: In BCLC stage 0-A, 98 received RR/RFA, and 49 received TACE. The median overall survival (OS) of RR/RFA group was not reached, while the OS of TACE group was 26.3 months (P=0.001). After matching, the OS of the RR/RFA group was longer than that of the TACE group (39.5 vs. 26.3 months, P=0.045). In BCLC stage B-C, 137 patients received TACE, 11 received RR and 24 received RFA. The median OS was 29.8 months, 17.9 months and 11.1 months for RR, RFA and TACE group, respectively. No significant difference was found between RR and TACE (P=0.237) or RFA and TACE (P=0.484) after matching. Costs of the TACE group was significantly lower than that of the RR group but similar to that of the RFA group. CONCLUSION: RR/RFA provided better survival outcomes for rHCC patients with MVI-positive at first resection in selected BCLC stage 0-A. In selected BCLC stage B-C, TACE shared a similar efficacy with RR and RFA but a lower cost than RR.
BACKGROUND: Recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma (rHCC) patients with microvascular invasive (MVI) positive at first resection usually had poorly differentiated tumors and worse survivals. The optimal treatment for this population remains to be elucidated. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 319 rHCC patients with MVI-positive at first resection from June, 2009 to June, 2017. Survival and costs between curative treatments [re-resection (RR) and radiofrequency ablation (RFA)] and transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) were compared. Subgroup comparisons were made in patients in Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stage 0-A and BCLC stage B-C, respectively. A one-to-one propensity score matching (PSM) was used to diminish bias. RESULTS: In BCLC stage 0-A, 98 received RR/RFA, and 49 received TACE. The median overall survival (OS) of RR/RFA group was not reached, while the OS of TACE group was 26.3 months (P=0.001). After matching, the OS of the RR/RFA group was longer than that of the TACE group (39.5 vs. 26.3 months, P=0.045). In BCLC stage B-C, 137 patients received TACE, 11 received RR and 24 received RFA. The median OS was 29.8 months, 17.9 months and 11.1 months for RR, RFA and TACE group, respectively. No significant difference was found between RR and TACE (P=0.237) or RFA and TACE (P=0.484) after matching. Costs of the TACE group was significantly lower than that of the RR group but similar to that of the RFA group. CONCLUSION:RR/RFA provided better survival outcomes for rHCC patients with MVI-positive at first resection in selected BCLC stage 0-A. In selected BCLC stage B-C, TACE shared a similar efficacy with RR and RFA but a lower cost than RR.