Effect of hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy of 5-fluorouracil and cisplatin for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma in the nationwide survey of primary liver cancer in Japan

Abstract

Background:The efficacy of hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy for the treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unclear.Methods:The outcome of 476 patients with HCC who underwent hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy with 5-fluorouracil and cisplatin (HAIC) were compared with 1466 patients who did not receive active therapy.Results:A survival benefit of the therapy after adjusting for known risk factors was observed (hazard ratio, 0.48; 95% CI, 0.41-0.56; P<0.0001). In propensity score-matched analysis (n=682), median survival time was longer for patients who underwent chemotherapy (14.0 months) than for patients who did not receive active treatment (5.2 months, P<0.0001).Conclusion:For advanced HCC, HAIC is considered to be an effective treatment. © 2013 Cancer Research UK.