Brief Reports
Copyright ©2005 Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Apr 28, 2005; 11(16): 2526-2529
Published online Apr 28, 2005. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v11.i16.2526
Systemic chemo-immunotherapy for advanced-stage hepatocellular carcinoma
Xiao-Yu Yin, Ming-De Lü, Li-Jian Liang, Jia-Ming Lai, Dong-Ming Li, Ming Kuang
Xiao-Yu Yin, Ming-De Lü, Li-Jian Liang, Jia-Ming Lai, Dong-Ming Li, Ming Kuang, Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, Guangdong Province, China
Author contributions: All authors contributed equally to the work.
Correspondence to: Dr. Xiao-Yu Yin, Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, Guangdong Province, China. yinxy@21cn.com
Telephone: +86-20-87765183 Fax: +86-20-87765183
Received: May 27, 2004
Revised: May 28, 2004
Accepted: June 28, 2004
Published online: April 28, 2005
Abstract

AIM: To evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of systemic chemo-immunotherapy for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

METHODS: Twenty-six patients with advanced HCC were treated by using systemic chemo-immunotherapy (PIAF regimen), which consisted of cisplatin (20 mg/m2) intravenously daily for 4 consecutive day, doxorubicin (40 mg/m2) intravenously on day 1, 5-fluorouracil (400 mg/m2) intravenously daily for 4 consecutive day, and human recombinant α-interferon-2a (5 Mu/m2) subcutaneous injection daily for 4 consecutive day. The treatment was repeated every 3 wk, with a maximum of six cycles.

RESULTS: A total of 90 cycles of PIAF treatment were administered, with a mean number of 3.9 cycles per patient. Eight patients received six cycles of treatment (group A), and the remaining 18 were subjected to two to five cycles (group B). There were 0 complete response, 4 partial responses, 9 static diseases and 13 progressive diseases, with a disease control rate of 50% (13/26). The 1-year survival rate was 24.3%, with a median survival time of 6.0 mo. Group A had a remarkably better survival as compared with group B, the 1- and 2-year survival rates were 62.5% vs 6.1% and 32.3% vs 0%, and a median survival time was 12.5 mo vs 5.0 mo (P = 0.001).

CONCLUSION: Systemic chemo-immunotherapy using PIAF regimen represented an effective treatment and could improve the survival rate and prolong the survival time in selected patients with advanced HCC.

Keywords: Chemotherapy; Immunotherapy; Advanced-stage hepatocellular carcinoma