TACE Combined with Portal Vein Tumor Thrombus 125I Seed Implantation in the Treatment of HCC with Hepatic Arterioportal Shunts.

Background and objectives: Transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) and ¹²⁵I seed implantation are methods used to treat hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with portal vein tumor thrombus (PVTT), PVTT often associated with arterioportal shunts(APS), there are few reports on the combined use of TACE and ¹²⁵I seed implantation for such patients. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of TACE combined with PVTT ¹²⁵I seed implantation in the treatment of HCC patients with APS.

Methods: Forty-two patients diagnosed with HCC combined with PVTT and APS between January 2020 and December 2021 were included. Appropriate materials were selected to transarterial embolization of the APS, and ¹²⁵I seeds were implanted into the PVTT. The occlusion effect was observed and recorded after 3 months, the efficacy of intrahepatic lesions and PVTT was evaluated, and the patient survival, prognostic factors affecting APS recanalization were analyzed.

Results: All 42 patients completed the follow-up three months after treatment. The immediate APS improvement rate was 100%, and the APS improvement rate at the three-month follow-up was 64.29%. The disease control rates of PVTT and intrahepatic lesions were 81.00% and 78.60%, respectively. The patients' 6-month and 12-month survival rates were 78.6% and 46.8%. The median OS for all patients was 11.90 months, and the median OS was 13.30 months in the APS effective treatment group and 8.30 months in the ineffective group. The PVTT type is the only independent factor affecting APS recanalization. (P=0.02).

Conclusion: For HCC patients with PVTT and APS, TACE combine with ¹²⁵I seed implantation in PVTT is a potentially effective and safe method that contributes to prolonging patient survival.