Transcatheter arterial embolization in hepatocellular carcinoma: a long-term follow-up.

Transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) was performed in 1,058 cases of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and the prognosis after TAE in HCC was then assessed from the long-term follow-up data. The results indicated that the prognosis was better for small tumors, and was significantly better for capsulated than noncapsulated tumors. For this reason, the prognosis of small tumors was not always better than that of large tumors. The prognosis worsened as the severity of portal obstruction increased. The prognosis improved with the use of Lipiodol (iodized oil). It was found that the use of anticancer drugs in combination with TAE, however, did not significantly affect the prognosis as compared with TAE alone. The 1-, 2-, 3-, 4-, and 5-year overall survival rates were 70%, 51%, 29%, 14%, and 5%, respectively.