Background & objective: 70-90% of patients of primary hepatocellular carcinoma (PHC) are associated with liver cirrhosis, portal hypertension and hypersplenism. The treatment of PHC is usually hampered by low or slow recovery of blood cell counts. This study was to investigate the effect of partial splenic embolization (PSE) combined with transcatheter hepatic arterial chemoembolization (TACE) for the treatment of PHC with portal hypertension and hypersplenism.
Methods: Efficacy of 26 patients with PSE combined with TACE and 26 patients with single TACE was observed.
Results: Satisfactory effects were achieved in PSE combined with TACE group in terms of correction of blood cell counts compared with cases treated with TACE alone.
Conclusion: PSE associated with TACE is safe and effective for the treatment of patients with PHC associated with liver cirrhosis, portal hypertension and hypersplenism.