Trans-arterial Chemoembolization with Doxorubicin-eluting Particles versus Conventional Trans-arterial Chemoembolization in Unresectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma: a Study of Effectiveness, Safety and Costs

Objectives: To compare the effectiveness, survival and cost in patients with unresectable hepatic cell carcinoma (HCC) treated with trans-arterial chemoembolization using doxorubicin-eluting beads (DEB-TACE) versus conventional TACE (cTACE) in clinical practice. Material and methods: This single-centered retrospective observational study compared 60 consecutive HCC unresectable patients: 30 were treated with DEB-TACE and 30 used cTACE. Comparisons were with chi(2) test, Student t-test, and Kaplan Meier method. Results: Of the 60 patients with HCC in non-curative stage, baseline characteristics were similar for both groups of treatment, and of these we observed lower survival in male patients and those who had hepatitis C virus (p = 0.014 and p = 0.003, respectively). No statistically significant differences were observed as a function of treatment employed with respect to overall survival (OS) at 5 years (29.99 months; 95%CI: 21.38-38.60 versus 30.67 months; 95%CI:22.65-38.70; p = 0.626) and progression free survival (PFS) median of 11.57 months (95%CI: 0.97-22.18) versus 12.80 months (95%CI:0.00-32.37; p = 0.618). The median length of hospital admission were 2.6 and 5.4 days (p < 0.001) for DEB(-)TACE and cTACE, respectively. Toxicities grade 2-4 were higher in cTACE group (54 versus 31; p < 0.001). The cost of the treatment was 1581 (sic) for DEB(-)TACE and 514.63 (sic) for cTACE. The overall mean cost of intervention was 3134 (sic) and 3694.35 (sic), respectively (p = 0.173). Conclusions: Chemoembolization in patients with unresectable HCC achieved OS close to 30 months at 5 years, independent of the technique employed. Similar overall costs but better tolerance of the DEB-TACE justified the higher costs of the procedure. (C) 2014 SERAM. Published by Elsevier Espana, S.L.U. All rights reserved.