BioScience Trends. 2019;13(5):374-381. (DOI: 10.5582/bst.2019.01153)

The clinical safety and efficacy of conventional transcatheter arterial chemoembolization and drug-eluting beads-transcatheter arterial chemoembolization for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma: A meta-analysis.

Han T, Yang XD, Zhang Y, Li G, Liu L, Chen TS, Zheng ZD

Transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) plays an important role in the treatment of unresectable liver cancer. We conducted this meta-analysis to compare the clinical safety and efficacy of conventional TACE (C-TACE) and drug-eluting beads (DEB)-TACE. A search for those procedures was performed using the PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library databases. A meta-analysis of patients who underwent C-TACE or DEB-TACE was conducted. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. Of 334 studies, 30 were analyzed. The complete response rate, disease control rate, objective response rate, 3-year survival rate, and non-response rate were significantly higher in patients who underwent DEB-TACE than those in patients who underwent C-TACE. The 1-year survival rate, 2-year survival rate, 30-day mortality rate, complete response rate, disease control rate, complete necrosis rate, non-response rate, objective response rate, progressive disease rate, and recurrence did not differ significantly between patients who underwent C-TACE and patients who underwent DEB-TACE. Patients who undergo DEB-TACE might have a higher complete response rate, disease control rate, and 3-year survival rate than patients who undergo C-TACE. Safety did not differ significantly between C-TACE and DEB-TACE.

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