Introduction: Transarterial chemoembolisation (TACE) is the most widely used locoregional treatment for patients with an unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Transarterial radioembolisation (TARE) with yttrium-90 containing microspheres is an emerging interventional treatment that could be complementary or an alternative to TACE.
Aim: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of TARE in patients with HCC who are refractory to TACE with drug-eluting beads (DEB-TACE).
Methods: We identified all patients who received TARE for HCC following one or more sessions of DEB-TACE in the period 2007-2016. Grade ≥3 adverse events were graded according to Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse events. Response on MRI was determined on MRI by modified RECIST. Overall survival was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method and was determined from the first TACE and from the TARE procedure.
Results: A total of 30 patients were included. Patients had a mean of 1.7 TACE procedures (range 1-4) prior to TARE. Grade 3 adverse events following TARE included: fatigue (20%), bilirubin increase (10%), cholecystitis (3.3%) and a gastric ulcer (3.3%). Response on MRI was achieved in 36.7%. Three patients (10%) were downstaged within the Milan criteria and received liver transplantation. The median overall survival after first TACE was 32.3 months (17.2-42.1 95% CI). The median overall survival after TARE was 14.8 months (8.33-26.5 95% CI).
Conclusion: TARE is safe and can be effective in patients with an intermediate or advanced stage HCC who are refractory to TACE. This treatment strategy has the potential to downstage to liver transplantation.
Keywords: Adverse events; Chemoembolisation; HCC; Microspheres; Radioembolisation; Selective internal radiation therapy; Survival; Yttrium-90.