Therapeutic results of resection, transcatheter arterial embolization and percutaneous transhepatic ethanol injection in 3225 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma: A retrospective multicenter study

The outcome in 3225 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) was studied in groups with equivalent prognosis treated with resection, transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE), and percutaneous transhepatic ethanol injection (PEI), Significant factors for better clinical background included a tumor diameter of less than or equal to 30 mm, tumor number less than or equal to 3 and (clinical) Stage I, In patients with Stage I disease having tumors of less than or equal to 30 mm and less than or equal to 3 in number, survival after resection and PEI did not differ, while survival after TAE was significantly worse, In those patients with Stage II disease, survival after PEI was significantly better than after resection or TAE, In patients with Stage I or II disease having tumors greater than or equal to 31 in size and less than or equal to 3 in number, survival after resection was significantly better than after TAE, In patients with Stage I disease having tumors of greater than or equal to 31 mm and greater than or equal to 4 in number, survival after resection was significantly better than after TAE, Our conclusions are as follows, Firstly, resection or PEI is recommended for patients with Stage I disease having less than or equal to 3 tumors all less than or equal to 30 mm in size, Secondly, PEI is recommended for patients with Stage II disease having less than or equal to 3 tumors all less than or equal to 30 mm in size, Thirdly, for patients with Stage I disease having tumors 31 mm or larger in size, whatever the number of tumors, resection should be selected rather than TAE.