Combination SBRT (Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy) With TACE (Transarterial Chemoembolization) for Unresectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma

• To establish the efficacy and toxicity of TACE combined with SBRT. [ Time Frame: Every year ] [ Designated as safety issue: Yes ]
  

• To determine the progression-free survival of TACE and SBRT [ Time Frame: every year ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
  
• To determine the overall survival of TACE and SBRT [ Time Frame: every year ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
  
• To correlate the tumor marker alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) with tumor response and survival. [ Time Frame: every year ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
  

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third most deadly cancer in the world. It is primarily seen in areas where hepatitis is endemic, such as Asia, but other risk factors include alcoholic cirrhosis.

Outcome of this disease is poor, mostly due to the fact that >80% of patients present with unresectable disease. Surgery or transplantation remain the only curative options. For the vast majority of patients who are unresectable, a variety of treatment options are available, including transarterial chemo-embolization (TACE), radiofrequency ablation, radioactive microspheres, microwave coagulation, laser-induced thermotherapy, and percutaneous alcohol injection, all of which have similar survival rates. Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) for unresectable HCC is a relatively new treatment option made available because of great improvements in diagnostic imaging and radiation delivery techniques. Although follow-up is limited, results show encouraging local control rates. Some investigators have combined TACE with fractionated radiotherapy as a means of intensifying local therapy, with some evidence of benefit.

TACE remains the dominant mode of local therapy for unresectable HCC. However, recurrence rates are high. The recent randomized trial suggests that a combination of local therapy (TACE and radiofrequency ablation [RFA]) is superior to either therapy alone, providing proof of principle that combined local treatment is most likely more effective for HCC. Because SBRT is rapidly becoming an accepted local therapy for hepatic lesions, its role in treating HCC needs to be further defined. Studies combining TACE and external beam radiotherapy have shown encouraging results, so the logical next step is to combine TACE with SBRT, which delivers a radiobiologically more intensive dose of radiation. However, toxicity data are lacking, since this combination has not been previously reported.

We propose to conduct a trial of trans-arterial chemo-embolization (TACE) and SBRT for unresectable HCC.