Recent Trends and In-Hospital Mortality of Transarterial Chemoembolization (TACE) in Germany: A Systematic Analysis of Hospital Discharge Data between 2010 and 2019

SIMPLE SUMMARY: The minimally invasive procedure of transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) represents a standard oncologic procedure for the treatment of intermediate-stage hepatocellular carcinoma, cholangiocarcinoma, and liver metastases. Up to now, comprehensive data on recent trends and post-interventional in-hospital mortality have been largely lacking. Therefore, the aim of our study was to provide a systematic overview of the different indications and embolization techniques, as well as to identify factors associated with increased in-hospital mortality. For this purpose, we retrospectively examined 49,595 individual cases in Germany, based on standardized hospital discharge data from the German Federal Statistical Office, over the period 2010 to 2019. As a result of our study, we were able to show a correlation of in-hospital mortality with the presence of various complications, the type of embolization used, and the annual case volume. Consequently, our study may help to reduce the mortality of this therapeutic procedure in the future. ABSTRACT: (1) Background: Transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) is a minimally invasive procedure, characterized by the selective occlusion of tumor-feeding hepatic arteries, via injection of an embolizing agent and an anticancer drug. It represents a standard of care for intermediate-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and it is also increasingly performed in cholangiocarcinoma (CCA), as well as in liver metastases. Apart from the original method, based on intra-arterial infusion of a liquid drug followed by embolization, newer particle-based TACE procedures have been introduced recently. As yet, comprehensive data on current trends of TACE, as well as its in-hospital mortality in Germany, which could help to further improve outcome following TACE, are missing. (2) Methods: Based on standardized hospital discharge data, provided by the German Federal Statistical Office from 2010 to 2019, we aimed at systematically evaluating current clinical developments and in-hospital mortality related to TACE in Germany. (3) Results: A total of 49,595 individual cases undergoing TACE were identified within the observation period. The overall in-hospital mortality was 1.00% and significantly higher in females compared to males (1.12 vs. 0.93%; p < 0.001). We identified several post-interventional complications, such as liver failure (51.49%), sepsis (33.87%), renal failure (23.9%), and liver abscess (15.87%), which were associated with a significantly increased in-hospital mortality. Moreover, in-hospital mortality significantly differed between the underlying indications for TACE (HCC: 0.83%, liver metastases: 1.22%, and CCA: 1.40%), as well as between different embolization agents (liquid embolization: 0.80%, loaded microspheres: 0.92%, spherical particles: 1.54%, and non-spherical particles: 2.84%), for which we observed large geographic differences in their frequency of use. Finally, in-hospital mortality was significantly increased in centers with a low annual TACE case volume (<15 TACE/year: 2.08% vs. >275 TACE/year: 0.45%). (4) Conclusion: Our data provide a systematic overview of indications and embolization methods for TACE in Germany. We identified a variety of factors, such as post-interventional complications, the embolization method used, and the hospitals’ annual case volume, which are associated with an increased in-hospital mortality following TACE. These data might help to further reduce the mortality of this routinely performed local-ablative procedure in the future.