Drug-eluting beads-transcatheter arterial chemoembolization with or without iodine-125 treatment is effective and tolerable in treating advanced non-small cell lung cancer patients: a pilot study

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to explore the efficacy and safety of drug-eluting beads-transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (DEB-TACE) with or without iodine-125 ((125)I) seed implantation in treating advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. METHODS: A total of 25 advanced NSCLC patients underwent DEB-TACE were consecutively enrolled, among which 17 cases also received (125)I seed implantation post DEB-TACE treatment. Treatment response, overall survival (OS), biochemical indexes and safety profiles were recorded and analyzed. RESULTS: Zero (0.0%), 13 (54.2%), 9 (37.5%) and 2 (8.3%) patients realized complete response (CR), partial response (PR), stable disease (SD) and progression disease (PD) respectively, and the objective response rate (ORR) and disease control rate (DCR) were 54.2% and 91.7%. The median OS was 12.6 (95% CI: 7.8–17.5) months. No difference of treatment response or OS was observed between DEB-TACE treatment alone and DEB-TACE plus (125)I seed implantation. Predictive factors analysis revealed that tumor size correlated with worse OS. Besides, chest distress grade and dyspnea grade were decreased after DEB-TACE procedure, while clinical symptoms were not changed after (125)I seed implantation. The common adverse events (AEs) were fever (32.0%), pain (12.0%) by DEB-TACE treatment, and common AE was pain (26.7%) by (125)I seed implantation. CONCLUSIONS: DEB-TACE with or without (125)I seed implantation is effective and tolerable in treating advanced NSCLC patients.