Comparative Study of Drug-eluting Beads versus Conventional Transarterial Chemoembolization for Treating Peculiar Anatomical Sites of Gastric Cancer Liver Metastasis

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to assess the relative safety and short-term efficacy of drug-eluting bead transarterial chemoembolization (DEB-TACE) and conventional transarterial chemoembolization (c-TACE) for treating peculiar anatomical sites of gastric cancer liver metastasis. MATERIAL/METHODS: Of the 68 patients with gastric cancer liver metastases confirmed by imaging and pathology, 35 were treated with DEB-TACE and 33 with c-TACE. The DEB-TACE group comprised 26 males and 9 females aged 28–75 years (56.8±6.3), and the c-TACE group included 19 males and 14 females aged 33–77 (60.2±9.4) years. Liver functions of the 2 groups were compared between pre-TACE and 1-week and 1-month after TACE. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging were reexamined at 1, 3, and 6 months after TACE, and short-term efficacy was assessed based on modified response evaluation criteria in solid tumors. RESULTS: One month following DEB-TACE and c-TACE, the number of cases with objective response (OR) was 29 cases (29 out of 35 cases, 82.9%) and 20 cases (20 out of 33 cases, 60.6%) and disease control (DC) in the 2 groups was 33 cases (33 out of 35 cases, 94.3%) and 26 cases (26 out of 33 cases, 78.8%) respectively (P=0.041, P=0.031). Alanine transaminase (ALT) and Aspartate transaminase (AST) significantly increased in the DEB-TACE and c-TACE groups 1 week later (P<0.001). There were no serious complications in the 2 groups; incidences of nausea and vomiting were significantly lower, but instances of fever were markedly elevated in the DEB-TACE group (P=0.023, P=0.016, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The safety, feasibility, and short-term efficacy of DEB-TACE and c-TACE in the treatment of gastric cancer liver metastasis are clear. DEB-TACE leads to less incidences of nausea and vomiting but more incidences of fever than c-TACE.