Percutaneous ethanol injection of the supplying artery to hepatocellular carcinoma that is not amenable to conventional treatment

Large Infiltrative Hepatocellular Carcinomas: Treatment with Percutaneous Intraarterial Ethanol Injection Alone or in Combination with Conventional Percutaneous Ethanol Injection

PURPOSE

To retrospectively evaluate patients' tolerance and the effectiveness of percutaneous intraarterial ethanol injection (PIAEI), alone or combined with conventional percutaneous ethanol injection (PEI), for treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Neither institutional review board approval nor informed consent was required for this retrospective study; however, all patients had given their consent to be treated with PIAEI. Fourteen men and four women with cirrhosis and HCC who were ineligible for conventional curative treatment (largest tumor diameter, 35-90 mm; mean, 52 mm +/- 16 [standard deviation]) and whose supplying arteries were visible on computed tomographic (CT) and color Doppler ultrasonographic (US) images were treated with US-guided PIAEI-either alone or combined with PEI. Twelve patients had infiltrative tumors, and six had nodular tumors. Four patients had portal venous tumor involvement. Tumor necrosis and recurrence were evaluated with CT, and 1- and 2-year survival rates were evaluated with Kaplan-Meier analysis.

RESULTS

In four patients, the main tumor was treated with PIAEI only, and in 14 patients, the main tumor was treated with combined PIAEI and PEI. One patient died of myocardial infarction before CT evaluation. Tumor necrosis was complete in 15 (88%) and incomplete in two (12%) of 17 patients. Results of subsequent surgery performed in three patients confirmed the radiologic findings: complete tumor necrosis in two patients and incomplete necrosis in one patient. Two severe PIAEI-related complications occurred: liver abscess, which resolved, and fatal acute pancreatitis. During the follow-up period (mean, 15 months +/- 6.7), six patients died owing to recurrent HCC, and 10 patients were alive with no detectable tumor after a mean follow-up period of 18 months +/- 11. One- and 2-year survival rates were 76.6% and 44.5%, respectively.

CONCLUSION

For patients with advanced HCC who are ineligible for other curative options, PIAEI could be an effective treatment, despite the associated risk of severe complications.

Non-surgical treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma

Primary hepatocellular cancer is a disease with a poor prognosis for which there is little consensus on treatment and a paucity of comparative trials. The coexistence of cancer with cirrhosis complicates treatment, and also confers a high risk for the development of further tumours. Surgery, either by hepatic resection or orthotopic liver transplantation, is only a feasible option in a minority of patients. This article surveys the non-surgical approaches to the treatment of hepatocellular cancers-local ablation techniques, arterial embolization with and without chemotherapy, conventional chemotherapy and hormonal modulation, and targeted and external irradiation.

Percutaneous ethanol injection therapy for liver tumors

Percutaneous ethanol injection therapy (PEIT) has been widely practiced in the treatment of liver tumors, especially of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Histopathologic examinations, findings in imaging modalities and serum tumor marker levels have shown a remarkable anticancer effect of this procedure. In addition, PEIT has achieved considerably high long-term survival rates. For small HCC, PEIT has been generally accepted as an alternative to surgery. Here we will describe PEIT from the viewpoints of patient selection, technique, various evaluation procedures of efficacy, long-term results, side effects and complications, and relationship with other therapies.