Hepatic Arterial Infusion Chemotherapy vs Transcatheter Arterial Chemoembolization as Adjuvant Therapy Following Surgery for MVI-Positive Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Multicenter Propensity Score Matching Analysis

Abstract

Yuhua Wen,1,2,* Lianghe Lu,1,2,* Jie Mei,1,2 Yihong Ling,2,3 Renguo Guan,1,2 Wenping Lin,1,2 Wei Wei,1,2 Rongping Guo1,2 1State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, 510060, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Liver Surgery, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, 510060, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Pathology of Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, 510060, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Rongping Guo; Wei Wei, Department of Hepatobiliary Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, 510060, People’s Republic of China, Email [email protected]; [email protected]: Microvascular invasion (MVI) is a significant pathological feature in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), adjuvant hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy (a-HAIC) and adjuvant transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (a-TACE), are commonly used for HCC patients with MVI. This study aims to evaluate the efficacies of two adjuvant therapies after surgical treatment for HCC, compare them, and identify the significant factors.Methods: Clinical data from two randomized controlled trials involving HCC patients with MVI after surgical treatment were retrospectively reviewed. Propensity score matching (PSM) analysis was performed to balance baseline differences between patients who received a-HAIC or a-TACE, and control groups who underwent hepatectomy alone. Disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) rates were compared.Results: In total of 549 patients were collected from two randomized controlled trials. Using the PSM and Kaplan-Meier method, the median DFS of the a-HAIC, a-TACE, and control groups was 63.2, 21.7, and 11.2 months (P

Keywords

• hepatocellular carcinoma
• microvascular invasion
• adjuvant transcatheter arterial chemoembolization
• adjuvant hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy.