321 Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) incidence continues to increase, but recent improvements in treatment of localized tumors have contributed to modest gains in survival rates. Though transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) and stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) are increasingly used in the management of unresectable HCC, outcomes data regarding the combination of these treatments is limited. Here we report institutional outcomes for patients with Child-Pugh A (CPA) and B HCC treated with TACE followed by SBRT. Methods: We completed an institutional retrospective review of all patients treated with combination TACE and SBRT between 2009 and 2013. After compiling dosimetry, toxicity, and outcomes data for each patient we calculated descriptive statistics for the cohort and determined local control (LC), distant liver control (DLC), progression free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) utilizing the Kaplan-Meier method. We also compared these disease-related outcomes between CPA and CPB groups with the Mantel-Cox test for equality. Results: Thirty-one patients with HCC, median age 65, were treated with TACE and SBRT and followed for a median 16.6 months (range: 6.2-50.8). Twenty-two patients had CPA disease and 9 CPB at the time of initial treatment. Following TACE and a median interval of 10.5 days (range: 4.4-25.6) patients underwent SBRT, the majority (23) with 45 Gy in 3 fractions. All but 3 patients were treated with respiratory gating, and all had cone-beam CT for image guidance. One and 2 year disease-related outcomes were as follows: LC 92.0 and 82.8%, DLC 81.5 and 61.0%, PFS 73.6 and 61.8%, OS 96.8 and 64.2%. There were no statistically significant differences between CPA or CPB patients with respect to any of these disease-related outcome measures. Median survival times for class A and B patients were 34.2 months (95% CI 12.3-56.1) and 27.2 months (14.9-39.5) respectively. Conclusions: The combination of TACE and SBRT is generally well tolerated, and results in very good local control in both CPA and CPB patients. Distant liver failure remains a major problem in these patients and requires further study.
Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) and respiratory gating in lung cancer: dosimetric and radiobiological considerations
