ArticleJournal of hepatocellular carcinoma2021
Chemoembolization Plus Microwave Ablation vs Chemoembolization Alone in Unresectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma Beyond the Milan Criteria: A Propensity Scoring Matching Study.
Article in Journal of hepatocellular carcinoma, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.
What it found
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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.
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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.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 11 citations in OpenAlex.
- High-power microwave ablation with preablation transarterial chemoembolization enhances ablation zone stability in patients with liver malignancies.La Radiologia medica · 2026Article
- Combined therapy with microwave ablation and conventional transarterial chemoembolization for hepatocellular carcinoma tumors larger than five centimetres: a prospective study.Diagnostic and interventional radiology (Ankara, Turkey) · 2026Article
- Efficacy and safety of TACE combined with MWA followed by immune checkpoint inhibitors and anti-VEGF/tyrosine kinase inhibitors in hepatocellular carcinoma beyond the up-to-7.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Article
- Consensus of Chinese Experts on Neoadjuvant and Conversion Therapies for Hepatocellular Carcinoma: 2023 Update.Liver cancer · 2025Article
- Identification of candidates with hepatocellular carcinoma to receive TACE combined with MWA by assessing tumor burden and radiologic features.Therapeutic advances in medical oncology · 2025Article
- Comparison of various liver cancer staging systems in predicting prognosis after initial transcatheter arterial chemoembolization: a retrospective study from China.Journal of gastrointestinal oncology · 2024Article
- Microwave ablation combined with transarterial chemoembolization containing doxorubicin hydrochloride liposome for treating primary and metastatic liver cancers.Journal of interventional medicine · 2023Article
- Clinical practice guidelines and real-life practice in hepatocellular carcinoma: A Chinese perspective.Clinical and molecular hepatology · 2023Review
- Role of interventional oncology in hepatocellular carcinoma: Future best practice beyond current guidelines.The British journal of radiology · 2022Review
- Microwave ablation and synchronous transarterial chemoembolization combined with PD-1 inhibitor in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma following tyrosine kinase inhibitor intolerance.Frontiers in immunology · 2022Article
- 2023 Update of Indian National Association for Study of the Liver Consensus on Management of Intermediate and Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma: The Puri III Recommendations.Journal of clinical and experimental hepatologyReview
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeTransarterial chemoembolization (TACE) is recommended in patients with unresectable HCC beyond the Milan criteria (MC). However, the long-term efficacy of TACE remains unsatisfactory. Percutaneous microwave ablation (MWA) is a curative therapy for early-stage HCC that provides better local tumor control than TACE; however, MWA is limited for large or multifocal lesions. We aimed to compare treatment efficacy and downstaging rate following combined TACE-MWA and TACE alone in patients with unresectable HCC beyond the MC. PATIENTS AND
methodsPatients with unresectable HCC beyond the MC who underwent either TACE-MWA (n=91) or TACE alone (n=140) at four medical institutions were included. Potential influencing factors on overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were included in the Cox regression analysis. Propensity-score matching of patients treated with TACE-MWA and TACE alone was performed. Differences in OS and PFS were compared with the Log rank test. Patients who met the University of California, San Francisco criteria were eligible for assessment of the probability of downstaging within the MC. Downstaging rate was compared between the two groups.
resultsIn multivariate analysis, treatment with TACE alone was an independent predictor of poor PFS (P=0.011) and OS (P<0.001). Both PFS (P=0.043) and OS (P=0.002) were significantly higher in patients treated with TACE-MWA than those treated with TACE alone. The downstaging rate was higher in patients treated with TACE-MWA than those treated with TACE alone (P=0.039).
conclusionCompared with TACE alone, TACE-MWA may offer a survival benefit in terms of OS and PFS in HCC patients beyond the MC. Additionally, TACE-MWA may provide higher probability of downstaging within the MC than TACE alone, thereby increasing the possibility of liver transplantation.
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Registered trials
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.