Role of transarterial chemoembolization in relation with sorafenib for patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma

BACKGROUND Although sorafenib is considered standard therapy for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), actual treatments vary. We evaluated the effects of different treatment strategies on overall survival. METHODS A retrospective study of sorafenib-treated patients with advanced HCC was conducted. The primary outcome was overall survival. Prognostic factors were analyzed using multivariate Cox-proportional hazards model. RESULTS A total of 658 patients (mean age, 54.5 years; 83.3% male) were analyzed; 293, 129, and 236 patients were treated with sorafenib, a combination therapy of sorafenib and transarterial chemoembolization (TACE), and TACE followed by sorafenib, respectively. Overall, 51.2% of patients treated under the combination strategy had portal vein invasion, whereas 89.9% of patients receiving sorafenib monotherapy had distant metastasis. Median overall survival durations were comparable (11.8 months for sorafenib, 16.2 months for the combination therapy, and 13.5 months for TACE followed by sorafenib; P = 0.13). However, among portal vein invasion cases, combination (25.7 months, P = 0.002) and TACE followed by sorafenib (14.0 months, P = 0.030) treatments were associated with longer overall survival duration compared with than sorafenib monotherapy (5.5 months). In a multivariate model, sorafenib duration (hazard ratio [HR], 0.96, P < 0.001) and TACE (HR, 0.24, P < 0.001) along with Child-Pugh stage (HR, 1.83, P = 0.005) were associated with better survival. CONCLUSIONS In patients with portal vein invasion, TACE performed concurrently with or before sorafenib administration is associated with better survival.