Clinical efficacy of TACE combined with Apatinib in the treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma.

Purpose: To explore the therapeutic efficacy and clinical safety of transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) combined with Apatinib in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Methods: 88 patients with advanced HCC admitted to our hospital from March 2015 to March 2016 were randomly assigned into group A (TACE) or B (TACE combined with Apatinib). Therapeutic efficacy and adverse events were recorded by follow-up data every three months after treatment. Disease control rate (DCR) and objective response rate (ORR) in both groups were calculated based on 18-month follow-up records.

Results: Nine months after treatment, DCR and ORR in group A were 81.82% and 36.36%, respectively, and 95.45% and 63.64% in group B. Disease-free survival (DFS) in group A and B was 11.15 and 16.5 months, respectively. No significant differences in the adverse event incidence (fever, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting) after embolization were found between the two groups (p>0.05). The incidence of hypertension, hand-foot syndrome, and proteinuria in group B was significantly higher than those in group A (p<0.05). Adverse events were all alleviated after symptomatic treatment.

Conclusions: The therapeutic efficacy of TACE combined with Apatinib in HCC treatment is higher compared to TACE alone, which may be related to the inhibition of tumor angiogenesis. TACE combined with Apatinib can improve the prognosis and prolong the overall survival (OS) of HCC patients.