Two to four treatments are usually required to treat the entire liver. A good clinical response, lowering serum tumor markers, and a decreasing tumor size or tumor necrosis characterize favorable response to the procedure. This is especially true for patients with underlying hepatic disease. In-patients with a relatively preserved hepatic function, TACE are well tolerated and the adverse effects after TACE can be anticipated and well managed medically. The largest TACE studies to date have shown survival rates to be superior to those of systemic chemotherapy.
Hepatocellular carcinoma is the most frequent tumor worldwide.
Ethiodized oil and doxorubicin was infused. Mean duration of symptomatic relief was 209 months. The use of TACE to treat unresectable liver malignancies is by no means a new treatment and is becoming more and more prevalent around the world. TACE combines tumor arterial embolization with simultaneous infusion of concentrated chemotherapeutic drugs having the theoretic advantage of causing tumor ischemia, increased drug levels as well as prolonged drug time interaction within the tumor and the added benefit of decreased systemic toxicity. Worldwide experience has proven chemoembolization to be the treatment of choice for unresectable hepatoma and also proven to be effective in the treatment of neuroendocrine and hypervascular metastases.