Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical value of adjuvant chemobiotherapy via portal vein for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with portal vein tumor thrombi (PVTT) following hepatectomy plus thrombectomy.
Methods: Eighty-six HCC patients with tumor thrombi in the portal trunk and/or the first-order branch were divided into groups A (n = 33) and B (n = 53). Patients in group A were treated with hepatectomy plus portal thrombectomy in combination with postoperative adjuvant chemobiotherapy administered via portal vein. The chemobiotherapy regimen consisted of 5-FU, adriamycin, cisplatin, and IFNalpha. Patients in Group B were subjected to hepatectomy plus thrombectomy alone. Survival rates of the two groups were compared and prognostic factors were identified using Cox proportional hazards model.
Results: Group A had a significantly longer median tumor-free survival time and median survival time compared with group B, i.e., 5.1 vs. 2.5 months (p = 0.017) and 11.5 vs. 6.2 months (p = 0.007), respectively. One-, two-, and three-year tumor-free survival rates were remarkably higher in group A than in group B, i.e., 18.4% vs. 8.4%, 13.8% vs. 4.2%, and 9.2% vs. 4.2%, respectively. One-, two-, and three-year survival rates were markedly greater in group A than in group B, i.e., 46.8% vs. 23.4%, 14.4% vs. 5.8%, and 9.6% vs. 5.8%, respectively. Multivariate analysis using the Cox proportional hazards model revealed that adjuvant chemobiotherapy, pathologic grading, and tumor size were independent prognostic factors for survival time (p = 0.000, 0.001, and 0.013, respectively), and chemobiotherapy and pathologic grading were independent prognostic factors for tumor-free survival time (p = 0.002 and 0.003, respectively).
Conclusions: Surgical resection combined with adjuvant chemobiotherapy via portal vein is an effective and safe treatment modality for hepatocellular carcinoma with major portal vein thrombus.