Tu jianfei, Ji jian-song

Department of Radiology and interventional radiology,Lishui Central Hospital

Objective:To retrospectively evaluate the safety andefficacy of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) following trans arterialchemoembolization (TACE) for patients with Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC)B, C stages hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Method: Data from allpatients who with BCLC B, C stage HCC and underwent RFA following TACE wereanalyzed. Median progression free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), andprognostic factors were analyzed with the Kaplan-Meier method and log-ranktests. Result: From Feb 2009 to July 2014, a total of 67 patientsunderwent RFA following TACE for unresectable HCC. The last follow time wasended in November 30, 2014, During a median follow-up of 29 months (range 2-55months), 33 patients died from intrahepatic recurrence and three patients diedfrom non-HCC related causes. The median OS was 38 months (range: 6-55 months)with 1-, 2-, 3- and 4-year overall survival rates of 90.7%, 69.7%, 50.7%, and30.7% respectively. The median Progression free survival was 12 months.Multivariate analysis revealed that age, extrahepatic metastasis, BCLC stage (Bor C), lesion count (1, 2, 3 or more), tumor diameter and pretreatment serumalpha-fetoprotein level were independent predictors for long-term survival. Conclusion:Combination therapy of TACE with RFA for patients with BCLC B, C stage HCCis safe and effective, which can delay tumor progression and improve the PFSand OS.

Key Words: hepatocellularcarcinoma  radiofrequency ablation