Outcome of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients With Portal Vein Thrombosis After Trans-Arterial Chemo Embolization

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most common neoplasm worldwide and the third most frequent cause of death from cancer in the world. Hepatocellular carcinoma is responsible for significant morbidity and mortality in cirrhosis. Most cases of HCC occur in the setting of cirrhosis and, therefore, prognosis is determined not only by factors related to the tumor but also by factors related to cirrhosis (1). According to previous reports, the incidence of HCC with partial portal vein thrombosis (PVTT) ranges between 44% and 62.2%. HCC associated with PVTT has a poor prognosis. It may lead to intrahepatic metastasis, liver dysfunction, and portal hypertension. The median overall survival for HCC patients with untreated PVTT is only 2.7 months (2). It was suggested that HCC with PVTT should be classified as stage C based on Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer; it is no longer surgically treatable. Compared with conservative treatment, TACE is a safe and effective therapy for such cases. However, this modality for treatment might be associated with mortality (3). As far as we know, there is no studies of short-term survival in patients with HCC and PVT after TACE in our locality. Our study aims to determine frequency of short-term mortality (\< 3month) among HCC patients with PPVT after TACE, and to explore its predictors.