Transarterial Chemoembolization with Anthracyclines-Loaded Polyethylene Glycol Drug Eluting Microspheres for the Treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Pooled Multicentric Analysis of Survival in 580 Patients

Abstract

Abstract Purpose To evaluate survival, efficacy and safety of transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) in the treatment of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), through a pooled analysis of patients with BCLC 0, A and B HCC stages, treated with polyethylene glycol drug eluting microspheres (PEG-DEM) TACE. Materials and Methods Patients from 3 retrospective and 2 prospective registries were included. Overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), tumour response and safety were evaluated. Multivariate Cox regression analysis was performed to evaluate predictors of OS. Results A total of 580 patients (72.1% males, mean age 66.9 ± 10.3 years) were included. 43.5% had BCLC A, and 41.0% BCLC B disease stage, and 85.8% were Child–Pugh class A. Complete and partial response (mRECIST or RECIST1.1) were achieved in 60.14% and 27.11% of patients, with overall response and disease control rates of 87.30% and 94.60%, respectively. Median OS was 50.8 months for the total population, and 61.2 and 38.1 months for BCLC 0 + A and BCLC B patients, respectively. Median PFS for the total population, BCLC 0 + A and BCLC B groups was 15.6, 21.6 and 12.7 months, respectively. Conclusions This multicentric pooled analysis confirmed efficacy and safety of PEG-DEM TACE, with a median OS of 50.8 months.