Safety and efficacy of transarterial chemoembolization with degradable starch microspheres (DSM-TACE) in the treatment of secondary liver malignancies

PURPOSE: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of degradable starch microspheres (DSM) as embolic agents in transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) in the treatment of secondary liver metastases. METHODS: This was a national, multicenter observational study. Primary endpoints were safety and treatment response according to Modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (mRECIST) criteria. RESULTS: A total of 77 DSM-TACE procedures were performed in 20 patients. Minor immediate adverse events (AEs) were epigastric pain with an incidence of 45.5% (35/77), and nausea and vomiting at an incidence of 23.4% (18/77). Delayed minor AEs were epigastric pain in 13/77 (16.9%) treatments and nausea and vomiting in 10 (13.0%) treatments. No severe AEs were documented. Therapeutic efficacy of DSM-TACE procedures according to mRECIST was as follows: complete response 0/77, partial response 17/77, stable disease 33/77 and progressive disease 6/77, no data was available for 21/77 treatments. Overall, objective response was achieved in 8 of 20 patients (40.0%). CONCLUSION: DSM as embolic agent for TACE is safe in the treatment of liver metastases. An objective response in 40.0% of patients and disease control in 64.9% of procedures was achieved, and this should lead to further evaluation of DSM-TACE as treatment option for nonresectable liver metastases.