Abstract
Purpose: This study aimed to retrospectively compare the local control and safety of microballoon-occluded transarterial chemoembolization (B-TACE) using miriplatin (MPT) and of conventional TACE (C-TACE) using epirubicin (EPIR) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
Materials and Methods: Thirty-nine patients (24 men, 15 women; mean age, 73.4 years) were treated using B-TACE with MPT (MPT-B-TACE group). As a historical comparison, 23 patients (13 men, 10 women; mean age, 72.2 years) who were treated using C-TACE with EPIR (EPIR-C-TACE group) were investigated. The therapeutic effect within 2 weeks after treatment was compared between the groups based on the Response Evaluation Criteria in Cancer of the Liver (RECICL), and time to local recurrence was compared based on the Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank tests. The side effects were compared based on the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (ver. 4.0).
Results: No significant differences were noted in patients' characteristics between the groups. The overall incidence of postembolization syndrome was significantly lower in the MPT-B-TACE group than in the EPIR-C-TACE group (p<0.05), but two cases in the MPT-B-TACE group developed grade 2 cholecystitis. Based on the RECICL, the objective response rate, including TE4 and TE3, within 2 weeks after treatment was significantly higher in the MPT-B-TACE group (89.7%) than in the EPIR-C-TACE group (78.3%). Overall, local recurrence was significantly less frequent in the MPT-B-TACE group than in the EPIR-C-TACE group (p=0.02).
Conclusion: MPT-B-TACE was associated with a higher objective response rate and lower local recurrence rate than EPIR-C-TACE without a significant increase in adverse effects.
