Transarterial chemoembolization for hepatocellular carcinoma with drug-eluting microspheres: preliminary results from an Italian multicentre study.

The purpose of this article is to present the early results of a multicentre trial using HepaSphere microspheres loaded with chemotherapeutic agents for transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma. From December 2005 to March 2007, 50 patients (36 male and 14 female, mean age 68.4 years) were treated by selective TACE using HepaSphere microspheres loaded with doxorubicin or epirubicin.