Hepatic arterial infusion of oxaliplatin plus raltitrexed in unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma with or without portal vein tumour thrombosis

Unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has a poor prognosis. According to the HCC management guidelines in China, the standard treatment of Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stage B or C HCC with portal vein tumour thrombosis (PVTT) is chemoembolization. However, some patients with BCLC stage B or C HCC with PVTT respond poorly to chemoembolization. We aimed to compare tumour responses and survival benefits between patients with unresectable HCC with or without PVTT. We reviewed 119 consecutive patients with unresectable HCC with PVTT (n = 67) and without PVTT (n = 52) who underwent hepatic arterial infusion of oxaliplatin plus raltitrexed between January 2018 and April 2021. Overall survival, progression-free survival, tumour responses, and adverse events were compared between the groups. There were no significant between-group differences in the objective response rates and median progression-free survival. The median overall survival was significantly longer in the group without PVTT than in that with PVTT (17.0 vs 10.4 months, respectively; P = 0.024). Hepatic arterial infusion of oxaliplatin plus raltitrexed may be efficacious in patients with unresectable HCC with or without PVTT.