Key clinical point: Arsenic trioxide (ATO)/lipiodol emulsion in the transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) combined with apatinib was safe and effective in patients with advanced HCC.
Major finding: At one week after the aTACE plus apatinib procedure, levels of AST and ALT were significantly elevated compared with pre-treatment levels, indicating treatment response ( 65.84 U/L vs 54.15 U/L and 63.44 U/L vs 51.60 U/L, respectively). Median progression-free survival was 10.2 months, and median overall survival was 23.3 months, with longer survival in patients without portal vein tumor thrombus.
Study details: The data come from 87 consecutive adults with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma who underwent arsenic trioxide (ATO)/lipiodol emulsion in the transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) combined with apatinib for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma between December 2015 and February 2017.
Disclosures: The study received no outside funding. The researchers had no financial conflicts to disclose.
Source: Li Z et al. Can J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2021 Aug 19. doi: 10.1155/2021/5565793.