肝细胞癌根治术后辅助性肝动脉化疗栓塞对远期复发的影响

目的 研究肝细胞癌根治术后早期(术后2个月内)行辅助性肝动脉化疗栓塞(TACE)对远期复发的影响.方法 2001-2007年行根治性手术切除的2436例肝细胞癌患者纳入本研究.根据术后是否行辅助性TACE治疗分为对照组和干预组;再根据肿瘤直径、数目以及有无镜下癌栓将入选病例分为肿瘤≤5 cm的复发低危、高危组以及肿瘤>5 cm的复发低危、高危组.肿瘤单个且无镜下癌栓为复发低危;否则为复发高危.研究辅助性TACE对各亚组患者远期(>2年)复发的影响.连续性变量用Student't检验比较;分类变量用χ2检验比较;用Kaplan-Meier法统计算生存率和复发率,用Log-rank法比较;用Cox回归模型分析影响患者远期预后的因素. 结果 对照组与干预组术后2年的复发率,在肿瘤≤5 cm的复发低危组分别为20.38%和25.41%,高危组分别为33.06%和39.61%;在肿瘤>5 cm的复发低危组分别为30.54%和40.55%,高危组分别为50.82%和51.57%;各对照组与干预组间的差异均无统计学意义(P>0.05).术后2年内发生复发或死亡患者的中位生存时间,肿瘤>5 cm的复发高危组中,对照组和干预组分别为12个月比24个月;仅在该亚组中,对照组与干预组间生存率差异有统计学意义(χ2=17.59,P<0.01).术后2年内未发生复发和死亡患者的复发率在各对照组与干预组间的差异均无统计学意义(P>0.05);但在肿瘤≤5 cm的复发低危组中,术后3、4、5年的生存率在对照组分别为93.95%、91.50%、88.42%,在干预组分别为91.70%、81.32%、78.19%,差异有统计学意义(χ2=7.48,P<0.05);其他亚组中对照组和干预组间差异均无统计学意义(P>0.05).Cox分析结果 显示,辅助性TACE不是影响远期复发的独立危险因素,但有增加影响这些患者死亡的趋势(HR=1.50,P>0.05).结论 辅助性TACE能够对术后残癌及早期复发灶进行及时诊治,但不能延缓或预防远期复发.对低复发风险(主要是肿瘤≤5 cm的复发低危组)患者给予辅助性TACE治疗可能是弊大于利.

Effect of postoperative adjuvant transarterial chemoembolization on late recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma after radical resection

Objective To identify the effect of postoperative adjuvant transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) on late recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients after radical resection. Methods From year 2001 to 2007, 2436 HCC patients underwent radical resection were retrospectively selected. Patients underwent resection only were classified into control group, while those received adjuvant TACE within 2 months after operation were classified into intervention group. Patients were further stratified into those with tumor ≤ 5 cm and presenting low or high risk factors for recurrence, as well as tumor > 5 cm and presenting low or high risk factors for recurrence. Patients with single tumor and without microscopic tumor thrombus were defined as low risk for recurrence; otherwise they were defined as high risk. The effect of adjuvant TACE on late (> 2 years) recurrence was evaluated. Results Recurrence rates of tumor≤5 cm and presenting low,high risk factors for recurrence, as well as tumor > 5 cm and presenting low, high risk factors for recurrence at 2-year after resection were 20.38％, 33.06％, 30.54％ and 50.82％, respectively in the control group, compared with 25.41％, 39.61％, 40.55％ and 51.57％, respectively in the intervention group; there were no significant differences between intervention group and control group in each stratum. For patients recurred or died within the first 2 years after resection, the median survival of tumor > 5 cm and presenting high risk factors for recurrence was 24 months in the intervention group and 12 months in the Control group. Only in this subgroup, the survival curve of the intervention group was significantly higher than that compared to the control group. For patients who remained recurrence free and survived within the first 2 years after resection,there were no significant differences in the recurrence curves between the intervention group and control group in each stratum; while cumulative survival rates in the subgroup of patients with tumor size ≤ 5 cm and presenting low risk factors for recurrence were 93.95％, 91.50％ and 88.42％ respectively in the control group, compared with 91.70％, 81.32％ and 78.19％ respectively in the intervention group at 3-, 4- and 5-year after resection (P = 0.0062); for other subgroups, there were no significant differences in the survival curves between the intervention group and the control group in each stratum. Cox regression model suggested adjuvant TACE was not an independent risk factor for late recurrence; however, it might have negative effect on survival [hazard ratio (HR) = 1.50, P = 0.062] for those patients (especially patients with tumor ≤ 5 cm and presenting low risk factors for recurrence). Conclusions The value of adjuvant TACE was mainly due to its therapeutic actions on residual tumor or early recurrence. It had no effect on postponing or eliminating late recurrence; moreover, it could be a risk rather than a benefit in patients at low risk for recurrence (especially those with tumor ≤ 5 cm and presenting low risk factors for recurrence).