Cytoreductive Surgery and Transarterial Chemoembolization (TACE) Versus TACE for Hepatocellular Carcinoma (TACE)

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the world's most common malignancies, especially in East-Asian countries. Hepatic resection has been accepted as the only means of cure for patients with HCC. The results of hepatic resection for early-stage HCC are favorable.Nevertheless, the role of surgical resection for multinodular HCC (MNHCC) is less well-defined.The presence of multiple tumors has been shown to be one of the most significant independent factors to influence cumulative survival rates in HCC after hepatic resection.Using the BCLC criteria,liver transplantation provides an alternative curative treatment option for MNHCC with size ≤ 5 cm in diameter and tumor number <3，but MNHCC beyond these criteria usually receive palliative therapy.

For MNHCC which not suitable for curative treatment, non-surgical and surgical interventions are available for palliative care.Cytoreductive surgery has the potential to increase the quality and quantity of survival in patients with advanced HCC. Cytoreductive surgery is carried out with partial hepatectomy,cryosurgery,microwave coagulation therapy(MCT),or absolute alcohol injection.It has been shown to prolong survival and provide good symptomatic relief in patients with good surgical risks in non-randomized studies.Cytoreductive surgery aims at removal or destruction of all macroscopic tumours, allowing microscopic foci to persist while preserving as much of the functional liver tissue as possible. The development of effective local ablative therapy (LAT), such as radiofrequency ablation (RFA) therapy, facilitates reduction of the tumour burden even further during the operation.Cytoreductive surgery can also be followed by other non-surgical treatments,such as regional therapy or systemic therapy, to deal with the residual disease or micrometastases.

The aim of this study is to compare the surgical outcomes of cytoreductive surgery followed by TACE with TACE alone in patients with MNHCC so as to establish a treatment standard for MNHCC.