Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34680278›Full record

ReviewCancers2021

In the Era of Systemic Therapy for Hepatocellular Carcinoma Is Transarterial Chemoembolization Still a Card to Play?

Ana-Maria Bucalau, Illario Tancredi, Gontran Verset

Open access · goldAbstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Cancers, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
0.7field-weighted citation impact, top 29% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 10 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Sorafenib with or without co-interventions for hepatocellular carcinoma.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025
    Review
  3. Review
  4. Review
  5. Review
  6. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Ana-Maria BucalauDepartment of Gastroenterology, Hepatopancreatology and Digestive Oncology, Hôpital Erasme, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), 1070 Brussels, Belgium.ORCID 0000-0003-0444-7806
Illario TancrediDepartment of Interventional Radiology, Hôpital Erasme, 1070 Brussels, Belgium.ORCID 0000-0001-5190-2635
Gontran VersetDepartment of Gastroenterology, Hepatopancreatology and Digestive Oncology, Hôpital Erasme, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), 1070 Brussels, Belgium.ORCID 0000-0003-1912-6327
Université Libre de Bruxelles · BEErasmus Hospital · BE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Conventional transarterial embolization (cTACE) has been proven to be effective for intermediate stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), with a recent systematic review showing an overall survival (OS) of 19.4 months. Nevertheless, due to the rapid development of the systemic therapeutic landscape, the place of TACE is becoming questionable. Is there still a niche for TACE in the era of immunotherapy and combination treatments such as atezolizumab-bevacizumab, which has shown an OS of 19.2 months with excellent tolerance? The development of drug-eluting microspheres (DEMs) has led to the standardization of the technique, and along with adequate selection, it showed an OS of 48 months in a retrospective study. In order to increase treatment selectivity, new catheters have also been added to the TACE arsenal as well as the use of cone-beam CT (CBCT), which provides three-dimensional volumetric images and guidance during procedures. Moreover, the TACE indications have also widened. It may serve as a "bridging therapy" for liver transplantation candidates while they are on the waiting list, and it represents a valuable downstaging tool to transplantation criteria. The aim of this review is to explore the current data on the advancements of TACE and its future place amongst the growing panel of treatments.

Indexed as

cone-beam computed tomographydrug-eluting micro-sphereshepatocellular carcinomaimmunotherapytransarterial chemoembolization

Identifiers

PMID34680278
PMCPMC8533902
OpenAlexW3207723419

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.