Transarterial Chemoembolization for HCC

As has previously been reported (22 (link)), TACE was performed by administering doxorubicin mixed with 5–20 mL lipiodol (Lipiodol Ultrafluide, Laboratoire Guerbet, France) to both groups. The dose of doxorubicin was 50–75 mg/m² (Haizheng Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., China) adjusted based on patient liver function, tumor size, vascularity, presence of an arterioportal shunt, and body surface area. All tumor-feeding arteries were superselected by a microcatheter (Terumo, Tokyo, Japan), and the mixture was injected at a rate of 1 mL/min until stagnation of blood flow was observed under fluoroscopic guidance. Gelatin sponge particles with a 500–700-um size was used to block feeding arteries of tumors. If an artery–portal vein shunt was performed, it was occluded before mixture embolization by big-size polyvinyl alcohol (Polyvinyl Alcohol Foam Embolization Particles; Cook Medical Inc., Bloomington, IN, USA) or a spiral steel ring based on angiography images and the doctor’s experience.