Results of transarterial chemoembolization of hepatocellular carcinoma as a bridging therapy to liver transplantation.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the degree of tumor necrosis after transarterial chemoembolization (TACE), used as a bridging therapy in patients awaiting liver transplantation, and its effect on survival.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study involving 118 patients submitted to TACE prior to liver transplantation, after which the degree of tumor necrosis in the explant and post-transplant survival were evaluated.

RESULTS: Total necrosis of the neoplastic nodule in the explant was observed in 76 patients (64.4%). Of the patients with total necrosis in the explanted liver, 77.8% had presented a complete response on imaging examinations. Drug-eluting bead TACE (DEB-TACE), despite showing a lower rate of complications than conventional TACE, provided a lower degree of total necrosis, although there was no statistical difference between the two. By the end of the study period, 26 of the patients had died. Survival was longer among the patients with total necrosis than among those with partial or no necrosis (HR = 2.24 [95% CI: 0.91-5.53]; p = 0.078).

CONCLUSION: In patients undergoing TACE as a bridging therapy, total tumor necrosis appears to be associated with improved patient survival.