Efficacy of adjuvant TACE on the prognosis of patients with HCC after hepatectomy: a multicenter propensity score matching from China

Abstract Background The survival benefit of adjuvant transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) in patients with hepatectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after hepatectomy remains controversial. We aimed to investigate the survival efficacy of adjuvant TACE after hepatectomy for HCC. Methods 1491 patients with HCC who underwent hepatectomy between January 2018 and September 2021 at four medical centers in China were retrospectively analyzed, including 782 patients who received adjuvant TACE and 709 patients who did not receive adjuvant TACE. Propensity score matching (PSM) (1:1) was performed to minimize selection bias, which balanced the clinical characteristics of the two groups. Results A total of 1254 patients were enrolled after PSM, including 627 patients who received adjuvant TACE and 627 patients who did not receive adjuvant TACE. Patients who received adjuvant TACE had higher disease-free survival (DFS, 1- ,2-, and 3-year: 78%-68%-62% vs. 69%-57%-50%, p