Transcatheter Chemoembolization With Drug-eluting Beads Combined With Apatinib In The Treatment Of BCLC Stage C Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Retrospective Study

ObjectiveThis study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of transcatheter chemoembolization(TACE)with drug-eluting beads(DEB)(DEB-TACE)combined with apatinib treatment of Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer stage C stage hepatocellular carcinoma.MethodsFrom January 2017 to June 2019,110 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma were treated with DEB-TACE combined with sequential apatinib.The adverse events of apatinib and the first DEB-TACE-related complications were assessed..The overall survival time and progression-free survival time of the patients were followed up.And the factors affecting the prognosis of patients were analyzed.ResultsThe main adverse events after the first DEB-TACE were fever,nausea,vomiting and pain,while the adverse events related to apatinib were hand and foot syndrome,gastrointestinal reactions,hypertension,albuminuria and fatigue,and no serious adverse reactions were found.The median overall survival time was 509 days(95%CI=305-712 days)and the median progression-free survival time was 190 days(95%CI=148-231 days).Preoperative ECOG score,tumor size,preoperative Child-Pugh grade and portal vein tumor thrombus classification had great influence on the overall survival time.Preoperative ECOG score,preoperative Child-Pugh grade and tumor size were the impact factors of median progression-free survival.ConclusionsTranscatheter chemoembolization with drug-eluting microspheres combined with apatinib is safe and effective in the treatment of BCLC C stage hepatocellular carcinoma.