Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To assess the clinical efficacy and safety of transarterial embolization (TAE) in simultaneous combination with computed tomography (CT)-guided radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for recurrent or residual hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and to determine the risk factors influencing local tumor progression following this procedure. METHODS: One hundred eighteen patients with recurrent or residual HCC (tumor size, 10-30 mm) underwent RFA. During the 19-month follow-up, 59 patients received RFA only (RFA group), and the remaining 59 received RFA immediately after TAE (TAE + RFA group). All patients were followed up to observe the short-term therapeutic effects and complications. The cumulative local tumor progression rates in both groups were calculated using unpaired Student's t tests and the Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS: The rate of major complications was 5.08% in the TAE + RFA group and 3.39% in the RFA group. The overall response rate was 96.61% in the TAE + RFA group and 79.66% in the RFA group (P = 0.008). The disease control rate was significantly higher in the TAE + RFA group than in the RFA group (94.92% vs. 79.66%, P = 0.024). The median time to local tumor progression was 4.8 months in the RFA group and 9.6 months in the TAE + RFA group. The cumulative local tumor progression rate at 1 year was 10.60% in the RFA group and 23.60% in the TAE + RFA group (P = 0.016). CONCLUSION: TAE in simultaneous combination with CT-guided RFA was effective and safe against recurrent or residual HCC. Local tumor progression can be minimized by the complete ablation of targeted iodized oil deposits after simultaneous TAE.