Hepatocellular carcinoma: transcatheter arterial chemoembolization of the gonadal artery.

Over the past 9 years, the authors have identified gonadal arteries supplying hepatocellular carcinoma in seven of 4,438 patients (0.16%) whom they attempted to treat by transcatheter arterial chemoembolization. All seven patients had tumors in the Couinaud segment 6 (S6) of the liver (mean size, 6.8 cm). The gonadal arteries in all seven patients showed anatomic variations, including a high origin (n = 3) and a common trunk with the adrenal artery (n = 4). The gonadal artery with anatomic variation may supply hepatocellular carcinomas located in liver S6.