Previous chemoembolization response after transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) can predict the anti-tumor effect of subsequent TACE with miriplatin in patients with recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma.

AIM: The purpose of this retrospective study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) with miriplatin in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

METHODS: From 2007 to 2010, 122 consecutive patients with unresectable HCC were treated by TACE with miriplatin-lipiodol suspension in our institute. Twenty-two patients (18%) had a solitary nodule and 100 patients (82%) had multiple nodules. Ninety-eight patients (80%) had a history of TACE.

RESULTS: Thirty-five of the 122 treated patients (29%) showed complete response (CR). And no serious complications were observed. Patients who had shown CR after previous TACE (pre-CR) were significantly more likely to show CR in the current study compared with patients who had shown less successful responses after previous TACE (56 vs. 20%, p = 0.003). Multivariate analysis revealed that response after previous TACE (pre-CR, risk ratio: 4.76; p = 0.035), tumor multiplicity (solitary, risk ratio: 9.69; p = 0.003), and injection artery (peripheral to segmental hepatic artery, risk ratio: 5.28;p = 0.040) were significant independent predictors associated with CR after TACE using miriplatin.

CONCLUSION: In repetition of TACE treatment, switching the TACE agent from epirubicin or cisplatin to miriplatin offered a favorable treatment effect, especially in patients who had shown a CR after previous TACE.