Safety and efficacy of transarterial chemoembolization plus sorafenib for hepatocellular carcinoma with portal venous tumour thrombus

•We introduce the safety of TACE plus sorafenib for patients with advanced HCC and PVTT.•We suggest that the combined therapy might prolong the TTP and OS than sorafenib alone.•Clinic benefit determinations with the Child-Pugh class, extrahepatic metastasis or gross type.

AimTo evaluate the safety and efficacy of combined therapy with transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) and sorafenib for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with portal venous tumour thrombus (PVTT).Materials and methodsThis study was approved by the institutional review board. From May 2009 to May 2012, 170 consecutive patients were newly diagnosed with advanced-stage HCC and treated with TACE plus sorafenib. Among them, 41 patients with PVTT were retrospectively enrolled in the study. The adverse events (AEs), overall survival (OS), time to progression (TTP), and prognostic factors were analysed. Statistical analysis was performed with the Kaplan–Meier method using the log-rank test and Cox regression models.ResultsThe most common AEs were hand–foot skin reaction related to sorafenib and fever related to TACE. Procedure-related mortality and grade 4 AEs were not observed. Grade 3 AEs were observed in five patients. During the median follow-up period of 13.5 months (range 1.4–45 months), the 6-month and 1-year survival rates were 87.7% and 53.6%, respectively. The median OS was 13 months (range 1.4–44.8 months), and the median TTP was 7 months (range 1–18.6 months). The Child–Pugh class (p = 0.022), extrahepatic metastasis (p = 0.009), and gross morphological type (nodular type versus diffuse type; p = 0.008) were prognostic factors related to OS in the multivariate analysis.ConclusionTACE plus sorafenib in an interrupted therapeutic scheme was well tolerated and might improve OS for HCC patients with PVTT, especially in those with Child–Pugh class A, no extrahepatic metastasis, or nodular-type HCC.