The effect of preoperative transcatheter hepatic arterial chemoembolization on disease-free survival after hepatectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma

The clinical outcome of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treatment remains unsatisfactory, contributing to the high mortality of HCC worldwide. Circulating miRNAs have the potential to be a predictor of therapy response. Microarray profiling was performed in serum samples of 20 HCC patients before treatment. Circulating miRNAs associated with treatment response were validated in 86 serum HCC samples using the qRT-PCR system. Patients were treated either with curative treatments (resection or radiofrequency) or trans-arterial chemoembolization (TACE), and grouped according to therapy response in complete responders (CR) and partial responders or progressive disease (PRPD), following mRECIST criteria. Four miRNA candidates from the discovery phase (miR-4443, miR-4454, miR-4492, and miR-4530) were validated. Before therapy, miR-4454 and miR-4530 were up-regulated in CR to curative treatments (2.83 fold, p = 0.02 and 2.33 fold, p = 0.008, respectively) and were able to differentiate CR from PRPD (area under the curve (AUC) = 0.74, sens/spec 79/63% and AUC = 0.77, sens/spec 72/73%). On the contrary, miR-4443 was 1.95 times down-regulated in CR (p = 0.05) with an AUC of 0.72 (sens = 70%, spec = 60%) in distinguishing CR vs. PRPD. The combination of the three miRNAs was able to predict the response to curative treatment with an AUC of 0.84 (sens = 72%, spec = 75%). The higher levels of miR-4454 and miR-4530 in were associated to longer overall survival (HR = 2.79, p = 0.029 and HR = 2.97, p = 0.011, respectively). Before TACE, miR-4492 was significantly up-regulated in CR patients (FC = 2.67, p = 0.01) and able to differentiate CR from PRPD (AUC = 0.84, sens/spec 84.6/71%). We demonstrated that different miRNAs predictors can be used as potential prognostic circulating biomarkers according to the selected treatment for HCC.

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Survival benefits from adjuvant transcatheter arterial chemoembolization in patients undergoing liver resection for hepatocellular carcinoma: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Therapeutic Advances in Gastroenterology ◽

10.1177/1756284820977693 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 13 ◽

pp. 175628482097769

Author(s):

Lei Liang ◽

Chao Li ◽

Yong-Kang Diao ◽

Hang-Dong Jia ◽

Hao Xing ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽

Transcatheter Arterial Chemoembolization ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Disease Free Survival ◽

Pooled Analysis ◽

Cochrane Library ◽

Free Survival ◽

Subgroup Analyses ◽

Disease Free ◽

Arterial Chemoembolization

Background: Although adjuvant transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) has been used to prevent recurrence after surgery in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the survival benefits from adjuvant TACE remain controversial. We sought to systematically evaluate the data on the effectiveness of adjuvant TACE for HCC, as well as identify patient populations that might benefit from adjuvant TACE. Methods: The PubMed, Embase, Medline and Cochrane library were systematically searched for studies published before July 2019 that compared adjuvant TACE versus surgery alone for HCC. The study endpoints were overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS). Patients with large HCC (⩾5 cm), multinodular HCC, microvascular invasion (MVI), or portal vein tumor thrombosis (PVTT) were analyzed in subgroup analyses. Results: Twenty-four studies with 6977 patients were included in the analytic cohort. The pooled analysis demonstrated that adjuvant TACE was associated with a better OS and DFS [hazard ratio (HR): 0.67 and 0.67, both p < 0.01]. In subgroup analyses, pooled results revealed that adjuvant TACE was associated with an improved OS and DFS in patients with multinodular HCC (HR: 0.79 and 0.31, both p < 0.01), MVI (HR: 0.62 and 0.67, both p < 0.01), or PVTT (HR: 0.49 and 0.58, both p < 0.01), but not among patients with large HCC (⩾5 cm). Conclusion: Postoperative adjuvant TACE may be effective to improve OS and DFS in patients with multinodular HCC, or HCC with MVI or PVTT. Future randomized controlled trials are needed to better define the benefit of adjuvant TACE in subset patients with HCC.

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The Use of Statin Is Associated With Better Disease-Free Survival In Patients with Hepatitis B-Related Hepatocellular Carcinoma after Curative Treatment

HPB ◽

10.1016/j.hpb.2020.11.059 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 23 ◽

pp. S24-S25

Author(s):

C. Chong ◽

G. Wong ◽

P. Ip ◽

T. Yip ◽

J. Wong ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽

Hepatitis B ◽

Disease Free Survival ◽

Curative Treatment ◽

Free Survival ◽

Disease Free

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Clinical features and outcomes of combined hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma versus hepatocellular carcinoma versus cholangiocarcinoma after surgical resection: a propensity score matching analysis

BMC Gastroenterology ◽

10.1186/s12876-020-01586-4 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Chih-Wen Lin ◽

Tsung-Chin Wu ◽

Hung-Yu Lin ◽

Chao-Ming Hung ◽

Pei-Min Hsieh ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽

Liver Cancer ◽

Propensity Score ◽

Propensity Score Matching ◽

Surgical Resection ◽

Disease Free Survival ◽

Clinicopathological Features ◽

Free Survival ◽

Before And After ◽

Disease Free

Abstract Background Combined hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma (cHCC-CC) is an infrequent type of primary liver cancer that comprises hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and cholangiocarcinoma (CC). This study investigated the clinicopathological features and prognosis among cHCC-CC, HCC, and CC groups. Methods We prospectively collected the data of 608 patients who underwent surgical resection for liver cancer between 2011 and 2018 at E-Da Hospital, I-Shou University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Overall, 505 patients with cHCC-CC, HCC, and CC were included, and their clinicopathological features, overall survival (OS), and recurrence were recorded. OS and recurrence rates were analyzed using the Kaplan–Meier analysis. Results In the entire cohort, the median age was 61 years and 80% were men. Thirty-five (7.0%) had cHCC-CC, 419 (82.9%) had HCC, and 51 (10.1%) had CC. The clinicopathological features of the cHCC-CC group were more identical to those of the HCC group than the CC group. OS was significantly lower in the cHCC-CC group than in the HCC group but was not significantly higher in the cHCC-CC group than in the CC group. The median OS of cHCC-CC, HCC, and CC groups was 50.1 months [95% confidence interval (CI): 38.7–61.2], 62.3 months (CI: 42.1–72.9), and 36.2 months (CI: 15.4–56.5), respectively. Cumulative OS rates at 1, 3, and 5 years in cHCC-CC, HCC, and CC groups were 88.5%, 62.2%, and 44.0%; 91.2%, 76.1%, and 68.0%; and 72.0%, 48.1%, and 34.5%, respectively. After propensity score matching (PSM), OS in the cHCC-CC group was not significantly different from that in the HCC or CC group. However, OS was significantly higher in the HCC group than in the CC group before and after PSM. Furthermore, the disease-free survival was not significantly different among cHCC-CC, HCC, and CC groups before and after PSM. Conclusion The clinicopathological features of the cHCC-CC group were more identical to those of the HCC group than the CC group. The OS rate was significantly lower in the cHCC-CC group than the HCC group. However, after PSM, OS and disease-free survival in the cHCC-CC group were not significantly different from those in the HCC or CC group.

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