• Minzhi Xing, Grant Webber, Hasmukh J Prajapati, Zhengjia Chen, Bassel El-Rayes, James R Spivey, Anjana A Pillai, and Hyun S Kim.
• Interventional Radiology, Department of Radiology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
• J. Gastroenterol. Hepatol. 2015 Jul 1; 30 (7): 1167-74.

Background And AimThe study aims to determine the effects of doxorubicin drug-eluting bead transarterial chemoembolization (DEB-TACE) therapies on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).MethodsThis is a single-center, prospective study assessing HRQOL of consecutive patients with unresectable HCC who underwent DEB-TACE. Longitudinal assessment of HRQOL scores via Short-Form-36 (SF-36) was performed. Baseline HRQOL scores were evaluated for significant change (P < 0.05) pre-therapy, post-therapy, and at 6- and 12-month follow-up. Analysis of overall survival (OS) from HCC diagnosis and OS from first DEB-TACE was performed. Paired t-tests were used to compare HRQOL domain scores.ResultsOne hundred eighteen patients (83 male; median age 60 years) were enrolled. Patients had lower baseline scores within all eight HRQOL domains of the SF-36 compared with US age-adjusted healthy norms. No significant changes in all eight domains were observed post-therapy and at 6- or 12-month follow-up compared with baseline (P > 0.05). No significant differences in all eight domains were observed between patients receiving ≥ 4 versus ≤ 3 DEB-TACE (P > 0.05). Both groups were similar for age at HCC diagnosis, gender, ethnicity, HCC etiology, Child-Pugh class and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status (P > 0.05). Patients receiving staged DEB-TACE demonstrated significantly greater median OS from HCC diagnosis (≥ 4 vs ≤ 3 DEB-TACE procedures, 31.9 vs 23.7 months, P = 0.04) and from first DEB-TACE (≥ 4 vs ≤ 3 DEB-TACE, 29.1 vs 20.2 months, P = 0.03).ConclusionDEB-TACE therapy for HCC demonstrated long-term preservation of HRQOL. In addition, staged DEB-TACE with four or more therapies does not significantly impact long-term HRQOL compared with patients who received three or fewer therapies.© 2015 Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Foundation and Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

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