Doxorubicin-eluting bead vs conventional transcatheter arterial chemoembolization for hepatocellular carcinoma before liver transplantation

AIM:To assess the possible effect of two different types of preoperative transcatheter arterial chemoembolization(TACE)on recurrence-free survival after liver transplantation(LT)in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)and to analyze the effects of TACE on tumor histology.METHODS:We retrospectively analyzed the histological features of 130 HCC nodules in 63 native livers removed at transplantation.Patients who received any other type of treatment such as radiofrequency tumor ablation,percutaneous ethanol ablation or who were not treated at all were excluded.All patients in the present study were within the Milan Criteria at the last imaging findings before transplantation.Doxorubicineluting bead TACE(DEB-TACE)was performed in 22patients(38 nodules),and conventional TACE(c-TACE)in 16(25 nodules).Patients’and tumors’characteristics were retrospectively reviewed.We performed a pernodule analysis of the explanted livers to establish the mean percentage of necrosis of any nodule treated by TACE(conventional or DEB)and a per-patient analysis to establish the percentage of necrosis in the cumulative tumor area,including 21 nodules not reached by TACE.Inflammatory and fibrotic changes in the tissue surrounding the tumor nodule were analyzed and categorized as poor/absent,moderate and enhanced reaction.Uni-and multivariate analysis of risk factors for HCC-recurrence were performed.RESULTS:The number and diameter of the nodules,the time spent on the waiting list and the number of treatments were similar in the two groups.A trend towards higher appropriate response rates(necrosis≥90%)was observed in the DEB-TACE group(44.7%vs32.0%,P=0.2834).The mean percentage of necrosis in the cumulative tumor area was 58.8%±36.6%in the DEB-TACE group and 50.2%±38.1%in the c-TACE group(P=0.4856).Fibrotic and inflammatory reactions surrounding the tumor nodule were markedly more common in the DEB-TACE group(P<0.0001,for both the parameters).The three-year recurrence-free survival was higher in DEB-TACE-treated patients tha