Embolization Versus Embolization Plus Systemic Therapy in HCC

Ghassan K. Abou-Alfa, MD, Gastrointestinal Oncology Service, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses a retrospective analysis that evaluated embolization versus embolization plus systemic therapy in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and metastatic disease.

Clinical Pearls:

• Patients with HCC that were given only embolization fared worse than patients in the control arm, who received sorafenib alone
• The median survival in the embolization-only arm was 6-7 months while median survival in the control arm was 10.7 months
• When patients received embolization plus systemic therapy, the median survival was greater than 1 year
• The idea of combining embolization and systemic therapy needs to be studied further