PURPOSE

To evaluate the safety and effectiveness of ablative radioembolization for large hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) while preserving a small future liver remnant (FLR).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Twenty-five patients with large HCC of ≥5 cm requiring treatment for >60% of the total liver volume and having well-preserved liver function were treated with ablative glass microsphere radioembolization at a single institution from January 2017 to December 2021. Radioembolization was performed with a mean absorbed dose of >150 Gy, and the FLR per nontumor liver volume (NTLV) was set at >30%. Changes in liver function, adverse events, duration of response (DoR) in a treated area, time-to-progression (TTP), and overall survival (OS) were retrospectively investigated.

RESULTS

The largest tumor diameter and planned dose per treated volume were 11.4 cm ± 3.9 and 242.3 Gy ± 63.6 (169.4 Gy ± 45.9 per whole liver volume), respectively. All patients remained at Child-Pugh Class A for 90 days. No patient experienced Grade 3‒4 hyperbilirubinemia or new ascites. One patient (lung dose, 27.8 Gy) developed radiation pneumonitis requiring transient steroid treatment. According to the posttreatment dosimetry, the tumorous and nontumorous liver absorbed doses were 418.8 Gy ± 227.4 and 69.0 Gy ± 32.1, respectively. The median DoR in a treated area and TTP were 22.0 and 17.1 months, respectively. The 5-year OS rate was 83.2%.

CONCLUSIONS

Ablative radioembolization of large HCC of ≥5 cm can be performed safely and effectively in patients with preserved liver function when FLR/NTLV exceeds 30%.