Therapeutic effect of transcatheter arterial chemoembolization combined with radiofrequency ablation or 125I interstitial brachytherapy on primary hepatocellular carcinoma: a comparative study

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) combined with radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and TACE combined with 125I interstitial brachytherapy in the treatment of primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and to compare the results of the two therapies.. Methods: Fifty patients with HCC underwent TACE and RFA during laparotomy and 34 patients received TACE and radioactive 125I particle seeding. Four weeks after the procedure, dynamic enhanced CT or MR scanning was performed for a check. If the lipiodol deposit was poor, TACE was repeated. Follow-up check was made at regular intervals to observe the results. Results: One month after the treatment, the local control rate of the tumor for TACE+RFA and TACE+125I particle seeding combination therapy was 98.0% and 97.1%, respectively. No statistically significant difference existed between the two therapies. Conclusions: Both TACE combined with RFA or with 125I particle seeding are effective therapies for HCC, which can be regarded as an ideal alternative therapy for patients who have failed to respond to TACE alone. (authors)