New Scoring System Defines Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients Who Achieve Most Benefit From TACE

Date: Apr-30-2013Data from a number of clinical trials presented at the International Liver Congress™ 2013 shed new light on the use of TACE and SIRT in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) is a technique in which small particles designed to block blood vessels mixed or coated with chemotherapeutic drugs are injected directly into an artery supplying the tumour; it has become a standard treatment in selected patients with HCC.

New data has identified a scoring system which defines those HCC patients who achieve the most benefit from TACE. An Assessment for Retreatment with TACE (or ART-score) was developed based on the impact of the initial TACE session on parameters of liver function and tumour response, and their impact on overall survival (overall survival; log rank test).

The ART-score differentiated two groups (0-1.5 points; ≥2.5 points) with distinct differences in prognosis (median overall survival: 23.7 months vs. 6.6 months; p0.05).

SORAMIC continues to recruit and investigators are hopeful that the combination of SIRT and sorafenib will be shown to significantly enhance survival over sorafenib alone without increasing toxicity thus enabling to design large Phase III clinical trials.

Courtesy: Medical News Today Note: Any medical information available in this news section is not intended as a substitute for informed medical advice and you should not take any action before consulting with a health care professional.