A comparison of the mRECIST and RECIST criteria in the efficacy assessment of TACE combined with sorafenib in the treatment of unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma

Objective To evaluate the value of the mRECIST criteria in assessing the efficacy of transcatheter arterial chemoembolization(TACE) combined with sorafenib in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).Methods A total of 35 patients who were treated with a combination of TACE and sorafenib for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma fulfilled the mRECIST and RECIST criteria in our hospital from June 2011 to November 2012.Enhanced CT and/or enhanced MRI were used before (baseline) and after (3 month reexamination) combination treatment in our hospital.The mRECIST and RECIST criteria were used to evaluate the efficacy,and these efficacy assessments were compared.Results In the RECIST criteria,complete remission (CR) was 0％,partial remission (PR) was 2.9％,stable disease (SD) was 85.7％％,and progressive disease (PD) was 11.4％％.In the mRECIST criteria,CR was 8.6％,PR was 51.4％,SD was 34.3％,and PD was 5.7％.For the RECIST criteria,the objective response rate (CR+-PR) was 2.9％,the disease control rate (CR+PR+SD) was 88.6％,and the disease progression rate was 11.4％.For the mRECIST criteria,the objective criteria was 60％,the disease control rate was 94.3％,and the disease progression rate was 5.7 ％.The difference between the efficacy assessment results of mRECIST and RECIST was statisti cally significant(P＜0.001).Conclusion The mRECIST criteria can evaluate the efficacy of target le sions based on viable tumors,which is more adaptive to TACE and targeted drugs with new mecha nisms. Key words: Hepatocellular carcinoma;  Transcatheter arterial chemoembolization;  Sorafenib; Efficacy