Comparative efficacy of postoperative adjuvant transcatheter arterial chemoembolization versus lenvatinib plus tislelizumab in patients with BCLC stage 0 -B hepatocellular carcinoma after radical resection.
This study aimed to compare the efficacy of postoperative adjuvant transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (PA-TACE) and adjuvant lenvatinib plus tislelizumab (PA-LT) in patients with Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stage 0-B hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who were at high risk of recurrence following radical liver resection (LR).
This study retrospectively evaluated HCC patients who underwent LR at two clinical centers between January 1, 2019 and January 31, 2025. Recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) were compared across three groups: LR alone, PA-TACE, and PA-LT. Propensity score matching (PSM) was conducted to reduce intergroup heterogeneity and to enhance the robustness of the results.
A total of 614 patients with HCC at high risk of recurrence after radical resection were included in this study. After PSM, 148, 223, and 75 patients were retained in the LR, PA-TACE, and PA-LT groups, respectively. Compared with the LR group, both the PA-TACE and PA-LT groups were associated with significant improvements in RFS and OS (all p < 0.001), and no severe adverse events were observed in either group. However, no significant differences in RFS or OS were observed between the PA-TACE and PA-LT groups (median RFS: 44.00 months (95% CI, 40.91-47.09) vs. 40.50 months (95% CI, 34.90-46.10), p = 0.086; median OS: 69.00 months (95% CI, 66.44-71.56) vs. 65.00 months (95% CI, 60.93-69.07), p = 0.572). Multivariable Cox regression analysis demonstrated that both PA-TACE and PA-LT were independently associated with improved RFS and OS.
Both PA-TACE and PA-LT were associated with improved RFS and OS in hepatocellular carcinoma patients at high risk of recurrence after radical resection, with acceptable safety profiles. However, no significant differences were observed between the two adjuvant treatment strategies.
This study retrospectively evaluated HCC patients who underwent LR at two clinical centers between January 1, 2019 and January 31, 2025. Recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) were compared across three groups: LR alone, PA-TACE, and PA-LT. Propensity score matching (PSM) was conducted to reduce intergroup heterogeneity and to enhance the robustness of the results.
A total of 614 patients with HCC at high risk of recurrence after radical resection were included in this study. After PSM, 148, 223, and 75 patients were retained in the LR, PA-TACE, and PA-LT groups, respectively. Compared with the LR group, both the PA-TACE and PA-LT groups were associated with significant improvements in RFS and OS (all p < 0.001), and no severe adverse events were observed in either group. However, no significant differences in RFS or OS were observed between the PA-TACE and PA-LT groups (median RFS: 44.00 months (95% CI, 40.91-47.09) vs. 40.50 months (95% CI, 34.90-46.10), p = 0.086; median OS: 69.00 months (95% CI, 66.44-71.56) vs. 65.00 months (95% CI, 60.93-69.07), p = 0.572). Multivariable Cox regression analysis demonstrated that both PA-TACE and PA-LT were independently associated with improved RFS and OS.
Both PA-TACE and PA-LT were associated with improved RFS and OS in hepatocellular carcinoma patients at high risk of recurrence after radical resection, with acceptable safety profiles. However, no significant differences were observed between the two adjuvant treatment strategies.