TACE combined with apatinib for the treatment of BCLC stage C of hepatocellular carcinoma: A restrospective controlled study.

445 Background: To access the safety and effcacy of transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) combined with apatinib (TACE-apatinib) for the treatment of Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stage C of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods: The medical records of 290 consecutive patients with BCLC stage C of HCC who underwent TACE-apatinib or TACE-alone from June 2015 to June 2017 were retrospectively reviewed. a-Fetoprotein (AFP) response at 4 weeks after treatment in the two groups were evaluated. Tumor response in the two groups were assessed according to modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (m-RECIST) criteria. The time to tumor progression (TTP) and overall survival (OS) of patients in the two groups were evaluated respectively. Results: One hundred and ninety patients were included in the analysis; 95 patients underwent TACE-apatinib and 95 underwent TACE-alone. The baseline characteristics of patients between the two groups were comparable. The disease control rate (DCR) of tumor and AFP response in TACE-apatinib group was significantly greater than that of TACE-alone group ( P < 0.001). The median TTP was 14.0 months in the TACE-apatinib group and 3.0 months in the TACE-alone group, and the median OS was 17 months in the TACE-apatinib group and 6.0 months in the TACE-alone group. Apatinib-related adverse events of grade 3 occurred in 14 patients in TACE-apatinib group, and there was no occurrence of grade 4 adverse event. Conclusions: The adverse effects of apatinib were acceptable, and TACE-apatinib improved the outcomes for patients with BCLC stage C of HCC in comparison to TACE-alone.