Combined iodine-125 seed strand, portal vein stent, transarterial chemoembolization, lenvatinib and anti-PD-1 antibodies therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma and Vp4 portal vein tumor thrombus: A propensity-score analysis.

Objective: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of interventional therapy (iodine-125[I] seed strand and portal vein stent [PVS] implantation plus transarterial chemoembolization [TACE]) combined with systemic therapy (lenvatinib plus anti-PD-1 antibody) as first-line treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients with Vp4 portal vein tumor thrombus (PVTT).

Patients And Methods: From December 2018 to October 2021, 87 HCC patients with Vp4 PVTT were included in this single-center retrospective study. Forty-seven patients underwent interventional therapy combined with lenvatinib and anti-PD-1 antibody (group A), while 40 cases underwent interventional therapy combined with lenvatinib only (group B).