Safety and efficacy assessment of transarterial chemoembolization using drug-eluting beads in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and arterioportal shunt: a single-center experience

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the feasibility and safety of transarterial chemoembolization with drug-eluting beads (DEB-TACE) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and arterioportal shunts (APSs). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty-eight patients with unresectable HCC and APSs who were treated with DEB-TACE (n=26) or polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) plus TACE (PVA-TACE, n=32) were included in this retrospective study. The tumor response was evaluated by the modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors. Toxicity was graded by the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events version 5.0 (CTCAE v5.0) and compared between the two groups. Survival curves were calculated by the Kaplan–Meier method and compared by the log-rank test between the two groups. The influence of potential prognostic factors on survival in the DEB-TACE group was analyzed via a multivariate Cox regression model. RESULTS: The disease control rate was better in the DEB-TACE group than in the PVA-TACE group. The median survival times were 346 and 274 days in the DEB-TACE group and PVA-TACE group, respectively. There was no significant difference in survival rates between the two groups (P=0.081). Patients treated with DEB-TACE were significantly less likely to have fever (P=0.048) or a low-grade (grade 1–2) increase in transaminases (P=0.046) than the patients treated with PVA-TACE. The potential predictive prognostic factors in the DEB-TACE group were tumor response, APS grading, and serum bilirubin. CONCLUSION: DEB-TACE may be feasible and safe in HCC patients with APS. Survival in the DEB-TACE group was associated with tumor response, APS grading, and serum bilirubin levels.