Intra-arterial 5-fluorouracil/interferon combination therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma with portal vein tumor thrombosis and extrahepatic metastases.

Objective: We investigated the efficacy of intra-arterial 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and systemic interferon (IFN)-alpha (5-FU-IFN) in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with portal vein tumor thrombosis in the first branch or trunk (Vp3/4) and extrahepatic metastases.

Methods: We examined 17 HCC patients with Vp3/4 and extrahepatic metastases (meta group) and 31 HCC patients with Vp3/4 (non-meta group). Baseline intrahepatic tumor factors and the hepatic reserve were similar between groups. The extrahepatic metastases of the meta group were not considered prognostic factors. Following the administration of 5-FU/IFN to all patients, we compared the survival rates, response, time to progression (TTP), and safety between groups.

Results: For intrahepatic HCC, complete response, partial response, stable disease, progressive disease, and drop out were observed in no (0%), one (6%), seven (41%), nine (53%), and no (0%) patients of the meta group, and in five (16%), seven (23%), 13 (42%), five (16%) and one (3%) patient of the non-meta group, respectively. The response rate was significantly lower in the meta group (6% vs 39%, P = 0.018). The median TTP of intrahepatic HCC and the median survival time were significantly shorter in the meta group than in the non-meta group (1.6 vs 6.3 months, P = 0.0001, and 3.9 months vs 10.5 months, P < 0.0001, respectively). The multivariate analysis showed that the absence of extrahepatic metastases was a significant and independent determinant of both TTP of intrahepatic HCC (P < 0.001) and overall survival (P < 0.001). No patient died of extrahepatic HCC-related disease.

Conclusions: The efficacy of 5-FU/IFN for advanced HCC with Vp3/4 and extrahepatic metastases was markedly limited.