Published online Dec 27, 2023. doi: 10.4240/wjgs.v15.i12.2820
Peer-review started: November 3, 2023
First decision: November 16, 2023
Revised: November 22, 2023
Accepted: December 8, 2023
Article in press: December 8, 2023
Published online: December 27, 2023
Primary liver cancer is a common malignant tumour with inconspicuous early symptoms, resulting in many patients being in the middle to late stage when diagnosed. Follow-up treatment after surgery is the key, in which transhepatic arterial chemoembolization (TACE), as an interventional therapy, has received more and more attention in recent years.
Although TACE is considered an effective treatment, controversy still exists regarding its prophylactic use after hepatic cancer resection. The aim of this study was to verify the prophylactic role of postoperative TACE and its impact on patient prognosis.
To assess the clinical efficacy of TACE after resection of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and its effect on tumour markers and liver function indices. To further explore the prognostic factors affecting patients’ 5-year survival.
This study compared the clinical data and treatment outcomes of two groups of patients with intermediate stage HCC. The observation group was treated with TACE after liver cancer resection, while the control group was not.
The overall effective rate of patients in the observation group was significantly higher than that of the control group. TACE treatment significantly reduced serum alpha-fetoprotein and carcinoembryonic antigen levels without exacerbating the impairment of liver function in patients. Cirrhosis, number of tumours, maximum tumour diameter and treatment regimen were identified as independent prognostic factors affecting patients’ 3-year survival.
TACE after hepatectomy for HCC significantly improves clinical outcomes, reduces tumour marker levels and may improve prognosis by removing residual lesions. This provides an effective comprehensive treatment strategy for patients with intermediate-stage HCC.
Future studies should expand the sample size and conduct prospective randomised controlled studies to further validate the findings of this study. In addition, exploring other possible integrated treatment strategies is also a direction for future research.