Clinical Research Of Non-specific Sequential Immunotherapy After Hepatocellular Carcinoma Resection

Objective To investigate the effect of hepatectomy combined with non-specific sequential immunotherapy(thymalfasin plus interleukin-2)for hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC).Methods According to the principle of informed consent,the 154 patients who met the inclusive criterion at the people's Hospital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region from January 2011 to December 2014 were divided into 3groups: group A(n=57)received hepatectomy only,group B(n=53)received hepatectomy plus 1 to 3 courses of immunotherapy,group C(n=44)received hepatectomy plus more than 3 courses of immunotherapy.The postoperative recurrence and survival of patients for the 3 groups were analyzed using Kaplan-Meier.The factors for postoperative survival were analyzed using Cox proportional hazard model.Results 1.The median recurrence time of group A,B,C were 25,28,and 31 months respectively after operation,and there were no significant difference(P=0.484).The 1-,3-,5-year cumulative recurrence rate in group A were 32.2%,65.2% and 87.1%;29.9%,56.6% and 81.3% in group B;26.1%53.7%and 77.5% in group C;the 1-,3-,5-year cumulative survival rate were 79.7%,50.3% and 20.0% in group A;90.1%,69.9% and 38.8% in group B;92.7%,71.1%and 41.5% in group C.2.The median survival time of group A,B,C were41,47,and 49 months respectively,and there were significant difference(P=0.023).There were significant difference between group A and group B(P=0.042),group A and group C(P=0.015),while there was no significant difference between group B and group C(P=0.649).3.The univariate analysis showed that tumor differentiation,tumor diameter,BCLC stages and serum alpha-fetoprotein(AFP)were prognostic factors of patients with HCC after resection(P>0.05);multivariate analysis indicated that tumor differentiation was the independent risk factors for survival(P=0.044).Conclusion Immunotherapy of thymalfasin plus IL-2 can prolong survival time of patients with HCC after radical hepatectomy,it's effect may be positively correlated with the courses of immunotherapy.The tumor differentiation was the independent risk factors for the prognosis of patients after resection.