Abstract
Background
Resection of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is potentially curative; however, recurrence is common. To date, few or no effective adjuvant therapies have been adequately investigated. This study evaluates the efficacy of adjuvant iodine-131-lipiodol after hepatic resection through the experience of a single-center hepatobiliary service of managing this disease.
Patients and methods
All patients who underwent hepatic resection for HCC and received adjuvant iodine-131-lipiodol between January 1991 and August 2009 were selected for inclusion into the experimental group. A group composed of patients treated during the same time period without adjuvant iodine-131-lipiodol was identified through the unit’s HCC surgery database for comparison. The endpoints of this study were disease-free survival and overall survival.
Results
Forty-one patients who received adjuvant iodine-131-lipiodol after hepatic resection were compared with a matched group of 41 patients who underwent hepatic resection only. The median disease-free and overall survival were 24 versus 10 months (P = 0.032) and 104 versus 19 months (P = 0.001) in the experimental and control groups, respectively. Rates of intrahepatic-only recurrences (73 vs. 37%; P = 0.02) and surgical and nonsurgical treatments for recurrences (84 vs. 56%; P = 0.04) were higher in the experimental group compared to the control group.
Conclusion
The finding of this study corroborates the current evidence from randomized and nonrandomized trials that adjuvant iodine-131-lipiodol improves disease-free and overall survival in patients with HCC after hepatic resection. The lengthened disease-free survival after adjuvant iodine-131-lipiodol allows for further disease-modifying treatments to improve the overall survival.
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Chua, T.C., Saxena, A., Chu, F. et al. Hepatic resection with or without adjuvant iodine-131-lipiodol for hepatocellular carcinoma: a comparative analysis. Int J Clin Oncol 16, 125–132 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10147-010-0143-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10147-010-0143-9