In the Era of Systemic Therapy for Hepatocellular Carcinoma Is Transarterial Chemoembolization Still a Card to Play?
Ana-Maria BucalauIllario TancrediGontran VersetPublished in: Cancers (2021)
Conventional transarterial embolization (cTACE) has been proven to be effective for intermediate stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), with a recent systematic review showing an overall survival (OS) of 19.4 months. Nevertheless, due to the rapid development of the systemic therapeutic landscape, the place of TACE is becoming questionable. Is there still a niche for TACE in the era of immunotherapy and combination treatments such as atezolizumab-bevacizumab, which has shown an OS of 19.2 months with excellent tolerance? The development of drug-eluting microspheres (DEMs) has led to the standardization of the technique, and along with adequate selection, it showed an OS of 48 months in a retrospective study. In order to increase treatment selectivity, new catheters have also been added to the TACE arsenal as well as the use of cone-beam CT (CBCT), which provides three-dimensional volumetric images and guidance during procedures. Moreover, the TACE indications have also widened. It may serve as a "bridging therapy" for liver transplantation candidates while they are on the waiting list, and it represents a valuable downstaging tool to transplantation criteria. The aim of this review is to explore the current data on the advancements of TACE and its future place amongst the growing panel of treatments.
Keyphrases
- systematic review
- radiofrequency ablation
- image quality
- cone beam
- computed tomography
- meta analyses
- deep learning
- stem cells
- single cell
- machine learning
- mesenchymal stem cells
- big data
- current status
- cell therapy
- drug induced
- electronic health record
- positron emission tomography
- molecularly imprinted
- dual energy
- liquid chromatography
- replacement therapy
- solid phase extraction