Comparative Analysis Of Tumor-related Vascular Changes Following TACE Alone Or In Combination With Sorafenib Treatment In Hepatocelular Carcinoma(HCC)

Objective:To investigate the tumor-related vascular changes in hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)following transarterial chemoembolization(TACE)combined with Sorafenib treatment.Methods:The data of 20 patients were retrospectively analyzed.Patients underwent treatment depending on their chosen regimens:Based on this,the patients were divided into a TS(TACE combined with Sorafenib)group(n=10)and a TACE only group(n=10).Digital subtraction angiography images of all patients were analyzed by two radiologists who were blind to the type of treatment administered.The diameters of the hepatic artery,the proper hepatic artery,the hepatic artery branches and the splenic,left gastric and gastroduodenal arteries or portal veins,as well as the number of micro-vascular vessels,were compared prior to and following Sorafenib treatment in the TS group,between the measurements taken after the first and second sessions of TACE in the TACE only group,and between the two groups.Results:In the TS group,the diameters of the hepatic artery,the proper hepatic artery and their branches,and the number of micro-vascular vessels were significantly reduced following Sorafenib treatment(P<0.05),while the diameters of the splenic,gastroduodenal and left gastric arteries were not significantly altered(P>0.05).In the TACE only group,the diameters of the hepatic,proper hepatic,splenic,left gastric and gastroduodenal arteries were not significantly different between measurements taken after the first and second TACE sessions(P>0.05),while the diameters of the hepatic artery branches,and the number of micro-vascular vessels were significantly altered(P<0.05).TACE combined with Sorafenib significantly reduced the diameters of the tumor-related arteries and the number of tumor micro-vascular vessels when compared with TACE alone(P<0.05).No significant difference was observed in the diameters of the portal vein and its branches between the two groups(P>0.05).Conclusion:TACE combined with Sorafenib could significantly affect the tumor-related vasculature compared with TACE alone in HCC.