Background: Huge (>10 cm) hepatocellular carcinoma is burdened by elevated mortality due to its peculiar characteristics and delayed diagnosis. Liver resection is considered the gold standard although survival is poor. Recently, some different strategies have been evaluated to improve results in tumor recurrence and survival. The aim of this research is to identify which strategy offers the best results in terms of overall survival for resectable huge hepatocellular carcinoma.
Methods: A systematic review and network meta-analysis of 13 studies was conducted from PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science databases including research comparing two or more treatments to manage huge hepatocellular carcinoma. Results were synthesized through forest plots and risk of bias assessed with the CINeMA framework as recommended.
Results: The association of liver resection and transcatheter arterial chemoembolization confers a significant improvement in survival compared to liver resection alone (HR: 0.55) while transcatheter arterial chemoembolization, radioembolization, and ethanol ablation alone were associated to decreased overall survival. Within-study bias, indirectness and incoherence were the domains mainly affected by concerns in risk of bias analysis.
Conclusion: Multimodal treatment including liver resection and transcatheter arterial chemoembolization increases survival in patients with resectable huge hepatocellular carcinoma.
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