Therapeutic effect of transcatheter arterial chemoembolization combined with thalidomide or sorafenib in treatment of unresectable primary liver cancer: a comparative analysis

Objective To investigate the therapeutic effect and adverse effects of transcatheter arterial chemoembolization( TACE) combined with thalidomide or sorafenib in the treatment of unresectable primary liver cancer. Methods A total of 102 patients who underwent TACE combined with thalidomide or sorafenib in 215 Hospital of Nuclear Industry of Shaanxi Province from January 2012 to August 2013 were enrolled and divided into TACE- thalidomide group( 49 patients) and TACE- sorafenib group( 53 patients). The short- term outcome,long- term outcome,changes in related indices,and adverse events were evaluated. The independent- samples t- test was applied for comparison of continuous data between groups,and the paired t- test was applied for comparison of continuous data within one group; the chi- square test was applied for comparison of categorical data between groups; the survival curve was used for survival analysis,and the log-rank test was applied for survival comparison. Results The indices of short- term outcome,objective response rate and disease control rate,showed no significant differences between the two groups. The 2- year survival showed a significant difference between the two groups( χ2=4. 692,P = 0. 03). The log- rank test showed that overall survival time and median progression- free survival time showed significant differences between the two groups( χ2= 8. 267 and 6. 896,P = 0. 004 and 0. 009). After treatment,alpha- fetoprotein( AFP) and gamma- glutamyl transpeptidase( GGT) showed significant differences between the two groups( t = 2. 035 and 2. 843,P = 0. 038 and 0. 025). The incidence rates of nausea / vomiting,dizziness / headache,rash / desquamation,and increased blood pressure showed significant differences between the two groups( all P < 0. 05). Conclusion TACE combined with thalidomide has the same short- term therapeutic effect as TACE combined with sorafenib and can improve the patient's long- term outcome and significantly reduce the levels of AFP and GGT,but it has high incidence of nausea / vomiting and dizziness / headache.