Transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) combined with Sorafenib is more effective than TACE for hepatocellular carcinoma with portal vein tumor thrombus

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common and malignant tumor with poor prognosis in the world. Most HCC patients were diagnosed in progressive stage, especially patients with portal vein tumor thrombus (PVTT), with a median survival time (MST) of 2.7 months (1). According to Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) treatment guidelines, Sorafenib is recommended as the first-line treatment to HCC patients with PVTT (2). However, the effect of Sorafenib is limited. Studies have shown that the MST of patients using Sorafenib is only 5.5 months, accompanied with many side effects, and life quality of patients is non-ideal (3). While Chinese scholars have made some beneficial explorations (4,5), using transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) or transarterial chemoembolization combined with Sorafenib (TACE-S) therapy to treat HCC patients accompanied with PVTT, receiving better effects. However, due to the lack of large-sample, multi-center and prospective-study, whether TACE-S has a better effect than TACE can’t perorate.