AUTHOR=Cao Yanyan , Sun Tao , Guo Xiaopeng , Ouyang Tao , Kan Xuefeng , Chen Lei , Liang Bin , Wang Mingfu , Zheng Chuansheng 

TITLE=Sorafenib Versus Apatinib Both Combined Transarterial Chemoembolization for Hepatocellular Carcinoma With Portal Vein Tumor Thrombosis: A Comparative Retrospective Study

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Oncology

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/oncology/articles/10.3389/fonc.2021.673378

DOI=10.3389/fonc.2021.673378

ISSN=2234-943X

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Objective</title><p>To compare the efficacy and safety of transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) combining with sorafenib or apatinib for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients with portal vein tumor thrombosis (PVTT).</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>From June 2015 to March 2020, a total of 89 consecutive advanced HCC patients with PVTT who were treated with sorafenib-TACE (S-TACE) or apatinib-TACE (A-TACE) in our center were enrolled. The overall survival (OS), time to progression (TTP), tumor response, and adverse events in the two groups were compared.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>There were 32 and 41 patients included in the S-TACE group and A-TACE group, respectively. The median follow-up was 10.0 months (range, 3.0–36.0 months) in the whole study. The median OS (11.0 <italic>vs.</italic> 10.0 months, <italic>P</italic> = 0.419), median TTP (5.0 <italic>vs.</italic> 6.0 months, <italic>P</italic> = 0.073), and tumor response (<italic>P</italic> = 0.529) between the S-TACE group and the A-TACE group were not significantly different. The adverse events related to sorafenib or apatinib were tolerable.</p></sec><sec><title>Conclusion</title><p>S-TACE and A-TACE exhibited comparable prognosis for HCC patients with PVTT, which provide another effective and safe method of A-TACE for these patients except for conventional S-TACE.</p></sec>