Drug-eluting beads-transarterial chemoembolization plus microwave ablation is an effective and safe treatment strategy in treating hepatocellular carcinoma adjacent to gallbladder.

The present study aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of drug-eluting beads-transarterial chemoembolization (DEB-TACE) plus microwave ablation (MWA) versus () surgery in treating patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) adjacent to gallbladder. Totally 54 patients with HCC adjacent to gallbladder were included and divided into two groups: DEB-TACE plus MWA group (n = 24) and surgery group (n = 30). Treatment response, relapse-free survival (RFS), progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS) and adverse events were assessed and documented. For DEB-TACE plus MWA group, complete response rate, objective response rate and disease control rate were 79.2%, 95.8% and 100.0% after one-month post treatment, respectively. In terms of survival profiles, DEB-TACE plus MWA group presented similar RFS (28.2 (95% CI: 12.5-43.9) months 26.6 (95% CI: 19.2-34.1) months) ( = 0.930), PFS (21.2 (95% CI: 1.6-40.8) months 26.6 (95% CI: 19.2-34.1) months) ( = 0.541), and OS (41.4 (95% CI: 35.0-47.9) months 59.7 (95% CI: 51.7-67.7) months) ( = 0.138) compared with surgery group, and further multivariate Cox's regression analysis validated that, after adjustment of confounding factors, DEB-TACE plus MWA group exhibited no difference of RPS, PFS or OS compared with surgery group. Regarding safety, the intraoperative adverse event incidence was higher in DEB-TACE plus MWA group compared with surgery group ( = 0.008), while two groups exhibited no difference of postoperative adverse event incidence ( = 0.618). In conclusion, DEB-TACE plus MWA presents to be an optional treatment strategy in patients with HCC adjacent to gallbladder.