TACE Treatment of Hepatic Carcinoma: A Comparative Study of Low Dose Versus Conventional Dose

Objective To discuss the effect of chemotherapeutic dose on the survival period, hepatic function and occurrence of side effects in the treatment of hepatic carcinoma with transarterial chemoembolization (TACE). Materials and Methods TACE was performed in 341 patients with hepatic carcinoma, which were randomly divided into group A (low dose group, n=168) and group B (conventional dose group, n=173). Patients in the group A received 10mg mitomycin C, while patients in the group B received 10 mg mitomycin C, 1000mg 5-Fu, 40mg epirubicin and 40mg hydroxy-camptothecinev. The alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), total bilirubin (TBIL), direct bilirubin (DBIL), albumin (ALB) and albumin/globulin ratio (A/G ratio) were estimated both before and at 3d, 7d and 28d after TACE procedure. The side effects, such as abdominal pain, abdominal distension, nausea, vomiting, fever, digestive tract hemorrhage, etc., as well as the survival period were observed and compared between two groups. Results No significant difference in the survival rate within one year after TACE procedure was found between two groups. ALT, AST and A/G ratio showed no obvious difference between two groups in 4 weeks after TACE (P0.05). At 4 weeks after TACE, TBIL and DBIL in the group B were higher, while ALB was lower, than that in the group A (P0.05). The occurrence of side effects in the group B was significantly higher than that in the group A (P0.05).Conclusion No significant difference in survival rate exists between small dose TACE and conventional dose TACE. Low dose TACE produces less hepatic damage and less side effects. Therefore, low dose TACE is worth adopting in the clinical practice.