Clinical effect of transarterial chemoembolization with ultra-liquid iodized oil combined with drug-eluting beads in treatment of Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer stage B/C hepatocellular carcinoma

Objective To investigate the clinical effect and safety of transarterial chemoembolization ( TACE) with ultra-liquid iodized oil combined with drug-eluting beads in the treatment of Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer ( BCLC) stage B/C hepatocellular carcinoma ( HCC) .Methods A retrospective analysis was performed for the clinical data of 51 patients with BCLC stage B/C HCC who underwent TACE with ultra-liquid iodized oil combined with drug-eluting beads in The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University from May 2016 to September 2018. Liver function was observed before treatment and at 3 days, 7 days, and 1 month after treatment, and adverse events and complications were recorded in detail. Modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors was used to evaluate clinical outcome at 1 and 3 months after surgery. The t-test was used for comparison of continuous data between two groups. Results Superselective TACE procedure was completed in all 51 patients. At 1 month after surgery, the target lesions had a disease remission rate of 70. 6% and a disease control rate of 96. 1%, while at 3 months after surgery, the target lesions had a disease remission rate of 64. 0% and a disease control rate of88. 0%. Of all 51 patients, 5 ( 9. 8%) experienced acute liver injury at 3 days after surgery, and there were significant changes in alanine aminotransferase ( ALT) , aspartate aminotransferase, total bilirubin ( TBil) , and albumin ( Alb) ( t =-5. 454, -3. 997, -5. 346, and7. 212, all P < 0. 001) . There were also significant changes in ALT, TBil, and Alb at 7 days after surgery ( t =-3. 177, -3. 665, and3. 194, all P < 0. 05) . Of all 51 patients, 35 ( 68. 6%) experienced grade 1 or 2 adverse events at 1 month after surgery, and no complications of liver failure, liver abscess, bile tumor, and gastrointestinal bleeding were observed. One patient died of multiple organ failure due to tumor progression on day 61 after surgery. Conclusion TACE with ultra-liquid iodized oil combined with drug-eluting beads is safe and effective in the treatment of BCLC stage B/C HCC, and further studies are needed to observe long-term efficacy and survival benefit.