Transarterial chemoembolization as an alternative to radioembolization is associated with earlier tumor recurrence than in radioembolization-eligible patients

IntroductionAlthough transarterial radioembolization (TARE) using yttrium-90 (Y-90) is a treatment option for large hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a fraction of patients are ineligible for TARE due to high lung shunt fraction (LSF). MethodsWe evaluated if treatment with transarterial chemoembolization (TACE), owing to TARE ineligibility was associated with early HCC progression. Consecutive patients with HCC who were initially TARE candidates were included. Patients with vascular invasion or metastasis were excluded. Primary endpoints were time-to-progression (TTP) and overall survival (OS). The secondary endpoint was objective response rate. ResultsIn total, 175 patients were included: 144 underwent TARE (TARE-eligible group) and 31 underwent TACE due to high LSF (TARE-ineligible group). This latter group had larger tumors (13.8 cm vs. 7.8 cm, P<0.001) and higher MoRAL scores (1,385.8 vs. 413.3, P=0.002) than the TARE-eligible group. After balancing baseline characteristics with an inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW), the TARE-ineligible group showed shorter TTP [adjusted hazard ratio (aHR)=2.16, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.14-4.07, P=0.02] and OS (aHR=1.80, 95% CI=0.85-3.80, P=0.12), although the latter was not statistically significant. The TARE-ineligible group had a significantly lower objective response rate than the TARE-eligible group (9.7% vs. 56.9%, P<0.001). ConclusionTARE-ineligible patients had larger tumors and higher MoRAL scores than TARE-eligible patients. Treatment with TACE, owing to high LSF, was associated with a shorter TTP even after balancing tumor size and MoRAL scores.

Automated summary

Although TARE is a treatment option for large HCC, some patients are ineligible due to high LSF. This study evaluated if TACE treatment for TARE-ineligible patients was associated with early HCC progression.