Bronchial artery chemoembolization with drug-eluting beads versus bronchial artery infusion followed by polyvinyl alcohol particles embolization for advanced squamous cell lung cancer: A retrospective study

•The treatment of advanced squamous cell lung cancer after failure of system therapy is challenging•Intravascular interventional therapy has drawn increasing attention as an important method for advanced lung cancerBronchial artery chemoembolization(BACE) or bronchial artery infusion(BAI) is considered an alternative treatment•Drug-eluting beads BACE maybe a better choice which could prolong OS and PFS and improve short-term tumor response To analyze the efficacy and safety of bronchial arterial embolization (BACE) with drug-eluting beads (DEB) versus bronchial artery infusion (BAI) followed by polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) particle embolization for the treatment of advanced squamous cell lung cancer after the failure of systemic therapy. Thirty-six patients with advanced squamous cell lung cancer who underwent bronchial arterial interventional therapy were included in this retrospective study. The DEB group (n = 20) was treated with nedaplatin and DEB loaded with gemcitabine, and the PVA group (n = 16) BAI with nedaplatin and gemcitabine followed by embolization with PVA particles. The treatment efficacy and complications were analyzed. The technical success rate was 100 %. The two groups were followed up for a median period of 8.9 months. The mean overall survival (OS) in the DEB group was 12.6 months (95 % CI:9.99–15.21), which was significantly longer than 8.14 months (95 % CI:6.07–10.2) in the PVA group (p = 0.007). The median progression-free survival (PFS) in the DEB group was 4.3 months (95 % CI:2.33–6.27), significantly longer than 3.2 months (95 % CI:2.55–3.85) in the PVA group (p = 0.030). The objective response rate (ORR) six months after the procedure was 50 % in the DEB group and 12.5 % in the PVA group. In the univariate and multivariate analyses, DEB-BACE was an independent prognostic factor for survival. Only grade 1 adverse events like fever, chest pain, and cough were seen. DEB-BACE may be a good choice for patients with advanced lung squamous cell carcinoma, as it could prolong OS and PFS without increasing adverse events.