The impact of combined postoperative antiviral therapy with adjuvant transarterial chemoembolization in hepatitis B-related hepatocellular carcinoma patients with high risks of recurrence

Objective To investigate the impact of combined postoperative transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) with antiviral therapy in hepatitis B-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HBV-HCC) patients with high risks of recurrence. Methods Fifty-three consecutive patients who underwent curative resection of HBV-HCC between January 2014 to February 2016 were enrolled. These patients were assigned to either the adjuvant antiviral therapy combined with TACE group (n=32), the treatment group or the no adjuvant treatment group (n=21, the control group). The recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) were analyzed. Results There was no significant difference between the two groups in clinical characteristics (P>0.05). The recurrence-free survival (RFS) (mean±S.D.) was (20.1±1.8) months in the treatment group and (18.7±2.4) months in the control group (P=0.752). The 1-, 2- and 3-year RFS rates of the treatment group and the control group were 65.6% vs. 57.1%, 31.3% vs. 28.6% and 15.6% vs. 14.3%, respectively (P>0.05). The overall survival (OS) (mean±S.D.) was (26.8±1.7) months in the treatment group and (21.1±2.2) months in the control group (P=0.037). The 1-, 2- and 3-year RFS rates were 65.6% vs. 57.1%, 31.3% vs. 28.6% and 15.6% vs. 14.3% in the treatment group and the control group, respectively. The 1-, 2-, and 3-year OS rates were 87.5% vs. 66.7%, 59.4% vs. 38.1% and 43.8% vs. 19.0% in the treatment group and the control group, respectively. Conclusion Antiviral therapy in combination with TACE did not decrease the RFS rate, but it improved the OS rate in HCC patients with high risks of recurrence. Key words: Transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE); Antiviral; Hepatocelluar carcinoma; Recurrence; Risk factor