Response rate and safety in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma treated with transarterial chemoembolization using 40-µm doxorubicin-eluting microspheres

PURPOSE: To evaluate the response rate and safety of superselective drug-eluting beats transarterial chemoembolization (DEB-TACE) with doxorubicin-loaded 40-µm microspheres in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). METHODS: One hundred and forty-one treatments with doxorubicin-loaded 40-µm microspheres in 83 patients between 2012 and 2017 were retrospectively evaluated. Images of the treated lesions were analyzed before and after each treatment according to mRECIST (modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors). Therapy response (complete response [CR] + partial response [PR]) and disease control (CR + PR + stable disease [SD]) rates were determined, and the correlation between the longitudinal axis (longest diameter of the tumor) and volume was investigated using a newly developed software for systematic tumor response assessment. Additional endpoints were progression-free survival (PFS) and time to progression (TTP). RESULTS: In the target tumors, a therapy response rate of 63.1% and a disease control rate of 95.7% were achieved. There was a good correlation between the measurement of the longitudinal axis and volume of the measured lesion (r value, 0.954). The median PFS was 2.23 months, and the median TTP was 5.91 months. The serious adverse event rate (SAE) was 10.64%. CONCLUSION: Superselective DEB-TACE with 40-µm sized Embozene Tandem™ can be considered an effective and safe treatment, given the number of procedure-related complications. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1007/s00432-020-03370-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.