Fei J, Qi LW, Liu Y, Shu M, Mo WQ. Comparing transarterial chemoembolization alone to combined transarterial chemoembolization and radiofrequency ablation in primary hepatocellular carcinoma treatment. World J Gastrointest Oncol 2025; 17(4): 102038 [DOI: 10.4251/wjgo.v17.i4.102038]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Jing Fei, MM, Doctor, Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shihezi University, No. 107 North Second Road, Shihezi 832008, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China. feij_xj@163.com
Research Domain of This Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Article-Type of This Article
Retrospective Study
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Gastrointest Oncol. Apr 15, 2025; 17(4): 102038 Published online Apr 15, 2025. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v17.i4.102038
Comparing transarterial chemoembolization alone to combined transarterial chemoembolization and radiofrequency ablation in primary hepatocellular carcinoma treatment
Jing Fei, Li-Wen Qi, Yuan Liu, Min Shu, Wen-Qiang Mo
Jing Fei, Li-Wen Qi, Yuan Liu, Min Shu, Wen-Qiang Mo, Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shihezi University, Shihezi 832008, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China
Author contributions: Fei J and Qi LW conceived the study and played a significant role in the literature search, data extraction, quality assessment, data analysis, and manuscript preparation; Fei J and Liu Y contributed to improving the article’s language and style, as well as protocol preparation; Shu M and Mo WQ assisted in the analysis with constructive discussions; Fei J revised the manuscript and approved the final version.
Institutional review board statement: This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the First Affiliated Hospital of Shihezi University.
Informed consent statement: Written informed consent for publication was obtained from all patients and/or their families included in this retrospective analysis.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Data sharing statement: The data sets generated and analyzed during this study are not public, but under reasonable requirements, the correspondence author can provide.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Jing Fei, MM, Doctor, Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shihezi University, No. 107 North Second Road, Shihezi 832008, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China. feij_xj@163.com
Received: October 6, 2024 Revised: January 8, 2025 Accepted: January 21, 2025 Published online: April 15, 2025 Processing time: 169 Days and 23.8 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. Transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) combined with percutaneous radiofrequency ablation (RFA) has emerged as a promising treatment strategy for patients with unresectable HCC.
AIM
To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of TACE combined with RFA compared to TACE alone in the management of primary HCC.
METHODS
A comprehensive retrospective analysis was conducted at our institution from January 2020 to January 2024, involving 106 patients diagnosed with intermediate to advanced-stage HCC. Patients were divided into two groups: Those receiving TACE alone (n = 56) and those undergoing combined TACE and RFA therapy (n = 50). Treatment efficacy was assessed based on tumor response rates, serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels, and survival outcomes. Statistical analyses, including χ2 tests and Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, were performed to compare the outcomes between the two groups.
RESULTS
The TACE + RFA group demonstrated significantly higher rates of complete response (15 vs 4, P < 0.01) and partial response (23 vs 15, P = 0.046) compared to the TACE group. Conversely, the TACE group exhibited higher rates of stable disease (25 vs 7, P < 0.01) and progressive disease (12 vs 5, P < 0.01). Serum AFP levels decreased over time in the TACE + RFA group, while they increased in the TACE group. Survival analysis revealed superior survival outcomes in the TACE + RFA group, with higher survival rates and a prolonged median survival time compared to the TACE group.
CONCLUSION
The combination of RFA with TACE could offer enhanced treatment response and prolonged survival in patients with primary HCC compared to TACE alone. These findings might support the adoption of multimodal therapeutic approaches, emphasizing the importance of personalized treatment strategies in the management of HCC.
Core Tip: Our study addresses a critical aspect of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treatment, comparing the outcomes of transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) alone vs the combination of TACE with percutaneous radiofrequency ablation. With a robust retrospective analysis of 106 patients, our findings highlight significant enhancements in treatment efficacy and survival rates when these therapies are combined, thus proposing a pivotal shift in therapeutic strategies for patients with unresectable HCC.
