Adjuvant transarterial chemoembolization for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma involving microvascular invasion

Abstract Background Microvascular invasion (MVI) has recently been reported to be an independent prognostic factor in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This study compared the outcomes of adjuvant transarterial chemoembolization (A-TACE) after hepatic resection (HR) in patients with HCC involving MVI. Methods This prospective study involved 200 consecutive patients with MVI-HCC who underwent HR alone (n = 109) or HR with A-TACE (n = 91).The Kaplan-Meier method was used to compare disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS). Results The two groups showed similar DFS at 1, 2, and 3 years ( P  = 0.077). The A-TACE group showed significantly higher OS than the HR-only group ( P  = 0.030). Subgroup analysis showed that A-TACE was associated with significantly higher DFS and OS among patients with a tumor diameter >5 cm or with multinodular tumors. Conclusions A-TACE may improve postoperative outcomes for MVI-HCC patients, especially those with tumor diameter >5 cm or multinodular tumors.