[Clinical observation of the treatment with combination of transcatheter arterial chemoembolization and sorafenib for hepatocellular carcinoma with lung metastasis].

Objective: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of the combination of transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) and sorafenib in treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with lung metastasis.
Methods: Thirty HCC patients with lung metastasis were treated by the combination of TACE and sorafenib between Oct 2006 and May 2008, including 27 men and 3 women. The age of the patients ranged 32 to 73 years old. Sorafenib was administrated orally at 400 mg, twice daily (the less tolerant patients received 200 mg, bid.), if there was no counterindication, at 3 - 4 weeks after TACE, with every 4 weeks as a course of treatment. The efficacy was evaluated at the end of every course of treatment.
Results: The metastatic lesions in the lung were diminished in 6 cases and stable diseases achieved in 8 cases. The primary liver tumors were stable in 22 cases, including 10 cases achieved by TACE before sorafenib treatment. Eight cases had slightly progressed liver tumors and were treated with 1 - 3 times of TACE in combination with sorafenib. Side effects included skin lesions in 7 cases, hair loss in 6 cases, fatigue in 18 cases, diarrhea in 6 cases, anemia and bone marrow suppression in 5 cases, high blood pressure in 2 cases, and gastrointestinal bleeding in 1 case.
Conclusion: The combination of TACE and sorafenib can be used as an effective treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma patients with lung metastasis, which may stabilize the disease in some patients.