e15591 Background: Infiltrative-appearance hepatocellular carcinoma (IHCC), also known as diffuse HCC, presents a distinct challenge to clinicians as evidence-based treatment guidelines have yet to be established. While transarterial radioembolization (TARE)… Click to show full abstract
e15591 Background: Infiltrative-appearance hepatocellular carcinoma (IHCC), also known as diffuse HCC, presents a distinct challenge to clinicians as evidence-based treatment guidelines have yet to be established. While transarterial radioembolization (TARE) has shown efficacy in HCC, many studies exclude IHCC in their analysis. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether TARE of IHCC improves survival. Methods: With IRB approval, patients with IHCC were identified. Patient were divided into two groups: TARE versus systemic therapy/palliative care. Demographics, date of diagnosis, date of expiry, albumin, international normalized ratio (INR), sodium, alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), creatinine, Child-Pugh class, model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score, and bilirubin were collected. Patients with bilirubin >3 were excluded. Mann-Whitney U test and Fisher’s exact test assessed for differences between groups. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and Cox proportional hazard analysis were performed. Results: Forty-one patients were identified, 10 underwent TARE while the remaining 31 served as a control. Mean age was 62, 30 patients were male. The mean overall survival of the TARE treatment group was 16.6 months (506 days) and the mean overall survival of the control group was 5.6 months (170 days) (Log-rank p < 0.004), with a combined overall survival of 8.5 months (259 days). Cox proportional regression analysis revealed statistically significant associations between survival and albumin (hazard ratio 0.12, 0.032-0.41, p < 0.001), Child-Pugh class B (hazard ratio 0.25, 0.064-0.941, p < 0.041), and sorafenib therapy (hazard ratio 0.246, 0.071 – 0.847, p < 0.026). Conclusions: Transarterial radioembolization for patients with IHCC improves life expectancy compared to treatment with comfort measures or systemic therapy.[Table: see text]
               
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