Previous chemoembolization response after transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) can predict the anti-tumor effect of subsequent TACE with miriplatin in patients with recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma.

AIM

The purpose of this retrospective study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) with miriplatin in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

METHODS

From 2007 to 2010, 122 consecutive patients with unresectable HCC were treated by TACE with miriplatin-lipiodol suspension in our institute. Twenty-two patients (18%) had a solitary nodule and 100 patients (82%) had multiple nodules. Ninety-eight patients (80%) had a history of TACE.

RESULTS

Thirty-five of the 122 treated patients (29%) showed complete response (CR). And no serious complications were observed. Patients who had shown CR after previous TACE (pre-CR) were significantly more likely to show CR in the current study compared with patients who had shown less successful responses after previous TACE (56 vs. 20%, p = 0.003). Multivariate analysis revealed that response after previous TACE (pre-CR, risk ratio: 4.76; p = 0.035), tumor multiplicity (solitary, risk ratio: 9.69; p = 0.003), and injection artery (peripheral to segmental hepatic artery, risk ratio: 5.28;p = 0.040) were significant independent predictors associated with CR after TACE using miriplatin.

CONCLUSION

In repetition of TACE treatment, switching the TACE agent from epirubicin or cisplatin to miriplatin offered a favorable treatment effect, especially in patients who had shown a CR after previous TACE.