Transarterial Chemoembolization with Drug-Eluting Beads for Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Song, Myeong Jun

Review Article

Journal of the Korean Liver Cancer Study 2012;12(2):88-92.
Published online September 30, 2012.

Transarterial Chemoembolization with Drug-Eluting Beads for Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Myeong Jun Song

Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea

Correspondence: Myeong Jun Song,
Email: mjsong95@gmail.com

Abstract

Transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) has been widely used as a standard treatment for HCC patients who are not suitable candidates for curative treatments and as a bridge to liver transplantation. The rationale for TACE is that the intra-arterial chemotherapy using lipiodol and chemotherapeutic agents, followed by selective vascular embolization, will result in a strong cytotoxic effect combined with ischemia (conventional TACE). Recently, drug-eluting beads (DC Bead®) for the transcatheter treatment of HCC have been developed to deliver higher doses of chemotherapeutic agent and to prolong contact time with the tumor. DC Bead® has the ability to actively sequester doxorubicin hydrochloride from solution and release it in a controlled and sustained fashion. Treatment with DC Bead® has been shown to substantially diminish the amount of chemotherapeutic agent that reaches the systemic circulation compared with conventional, lipiodol-based regimens, significantly reducing drug-related adverse events. In this article, we describe the treatment efficacy and safety of TACE with the drug-eluting bead for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma and discuss future therapeutic possibilities.

Key Words: Hepatocellular carcinoma; Transarterial chemoembolization; Conventional TACE; Drug-eluting bead

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