Transarterial Chemoembolization Versus Transarterial Chemoembolization With Hepatic Artery Chemotherapy Infusion for Patients With Potentially Resectable HCC

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most commonly malignant tumors around the world. Hepatic resection or liver transplantation is the radical method to cure the disease. However, due to large tumors, surgical treatment is suitable for early-stage and well-reserved liver function patients. Therefore, in clinical practice, transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) is a preferential and standard treatment of potentially resectable HCC.

EACH trial opened the door to FOLFOX-based system chemotherapy for advanced HCC patients. Recently, investigators have showed that hepatic arterial infusion of FOLFOX-based chemotherapy (HAIC) was safe and efficient for HCC patients. Several clinical studies showed that HAIC bring better tumor response rate that the conditional TACE. The combination of TACE with HAIC (TACE-HAIC), theoretically can significantly increase the local doses of chemotherapeutic agents in the liver, reduce the viability of HCC cells and increase the hepatectomy rate. However, this hasn't been verified in clinical application. To identify a more effective and safety way for treating potentially resectable HCC patients, this study is designed to compare the safety and efficacy between HAIC and TACE-HAIC for those patients.