EVALUATION OF TRANSCATHETER ARTERIAL EMBOLIZATION THERAPY FOR HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMA

We treated fifty patients with hepatocellular carcinoma by transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) for these three years. Six-months survival rate of these patients was 84.6 percent (33/39), and one-year survival rate 70.4 percent (19/27). As to eighteen decompensated cases with ascites and/or encephalopathy, six-months survival rate was 75.0 percent (12/16), and one-year survival rate 60.0 percent (6/10). Effectiveness of TAE for each patient was classified into five degrees by image of CT scan with contrast enhancement (CE)."Excellent effectiveness"means complete necrosis of the tumor with negative CE by CT scan image, and"ordinary effectiveness"means partial necrosis of the tumor with positive CE. If positive CE was found in the cancer after TAE therapy, we made additional TAE therapy against the surviving tumor within three months. According to this criteria by CT scan after the therapy, when one course of TAE therapy was performed, "excellent effect"was found only 20 percent (10/50), and"ordinary effect"72 percent (36/50). But when additional TAE therapy was performed for patients with CE-positive tumor, "excellent effect"was achieved in 46 percent of the cases. Thus repeated TAE therapy is necessary to achieve more complete necrosis of the tumor. In order to make better treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma and to attain higher survival rate, intensive medical care for liver cirrhosis is essential, and repeated TAE therapy should be emphasized.