Efficacy of postoperative antiviral combined transcatheter arterial chemoembolization therapy in prevention of hepatitis B-related hepatocellular carcinoma recurrence

Background Recurrence of hepatitis B-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after curative resection is the leading factor influencing the prognosis of the disease. Therefore, further improvement of long-term survival may depend on the prevention and treatment of the recurrent tumor. The aim of this research was to investigate the role of antiviral therapy and postoperative transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) in the prevention and treatment of hepatitis B-related HCC recurrence. Methods One hundred and twenty patients who underwent curative resection of hepatitis B-related HCC between January 2005 and June 2008 at our hospital were enrolled. Patients were divided into four groups according to the post-operative adjuvant therapy they received, i.e., control, antiviral therapy group, TACE group, and combined group. The disease-free survival (DFS) and the 12-, 24-, 36-month cumulative recurrence rates were studied. Results There was no significant difference between isolated postoperative antiviral therapy group and control in terms of disease-free survival ( P =0.283), while it was significantly higher in the TACE group compared to control ( P =0.019). In all patients, however, viral prophylactic therapy combined with/without TACE brought a favorable result compared to those only with/without TACE ( P <0.001). Similarly, no matter combined with or without antiviral treatment, postoperative TACE prolonged DFS ( P =0.015). Naturally, a combination of viral prophylactic therapy on the baseline TACE significantly benefited patients' postoperative DFS ( P =0.047) and vice verse ( P =0.002). The 24-month cumulative recurrence rates of combined group were significantly lower than that of isolated control group and antiviral therapy ( P <0.001 and P =0.011 respectively). However, 36-month recurrence rate was significantly different in the control group compared to the TACE group and combined group ( P =0.040 and 0.002 respectively); same as the antiviral group compared to the combined group ( P =0.034). Conclusions Post-operative TACE prevents early recurrence while antiviral therapy prevents late recurrence of HCC. Combination of antiviral therapy and TACE are suggested for prevention in HCC patients with high risk of recurrence.