A Case of Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma with Long-term Post-progression Survival under Repeated Transarterial Chemoembolization after Sorafenib Failure

ABSTRACT

Hepatocellular carcinoma is the third leading cause of cancer related mortality worldwide. Only 30% of patients are eligible for curative surgical resection at diagnosis. For patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma with accompanying portal vein tumor thrombosis, Sorafenib is recommended as first-line treatment. However, survival gain from sorafenib is unsatisfactory, and there is no standard therapy for patients who are intolerable or refractory to sorafenib. Here we report a case of a 52-year-old man who initially achieved partial response after sorafenib treatment, but eventually showed disease progression and was treated subsequently with transarterial chemoembolization (TACE). Multinodular recurrence occurred, but he was treated with repeated TACE, and has survived for 4 years so far.