Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41522746›Full record

ArticleJournal of gastrointestinal oncology2025

Revisiting the role of postoperative adjuvant transarterial chemoembolization in hepatocellular carcinoma: a propensity score matching analysis.

Jia-Jun Li, Ye Xu, Hua-Hua Liu, Mao-Pei Chen, Yi Chen, Ning-Ling Ge, Lan Zhang, Zheng-Gang Ren, Xin-Rong Yang, Rong-Xin Chen

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of gastrointestinal oncology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Jia-Jun Li *Department of Hepatobiliary Oncology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Ye Xu *Department of Hepatobiliary Oncology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Hua-Hua LiuDepartment of Hepatobiliary Oncology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Mao-Pei ChenDepartment of Hepatobiliary Oncology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Yi ChenDepartment of Hepatobiliary Oncology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Ning-Ling GeDepartment of Hepatobiliary Oncology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Lan ZhangDepartment of Hepatobiliary Oncology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Zheng-Gang RenDepartment of Hepatobiliary Oncology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Xin-Rong YangLiver Cancer Institute, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Rong-Xin ChenDepartment of Hepatobiliary Oncology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: The optimal adjuvant therapy after liver resection in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is controversial. This study aimed to revisit the efficacy of postoperative adjuvant transarterial chemoembolization (PA-TACE) in HCC patients after curative-intent hepatectomy. Methods: A total of 387 patients were divided into PA-TACE group and no adjuvant treatment control group, and follow-up data were collected. The primary endpoints of recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) were assessed before and after propensity score matching (PSM) analysis. Survival data were computed by means of the Kaplan-Meier method. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards model was used to determine the independent risk factors for patients' outcomes. Results: The RFS rates were higher in patients treated with PA-TACE compared to those in the control group, with borderline statistical significance [P=0.050; hazard ratio (HR) =0.75, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.56-1.0]. Patients in the PA-TACE group had significantly higher OS rates than those in the control group (P=0.04, HR =0.70, 95% CI: 0.50-0.99). After PSM, the impact of PA-TACE on RFS and OS remained significant (HR =0.70, P=0.04 for RFS; HR =0.65, P=0.04 for OS). On multivariate Cox regression analyses in the entire cohort, age >65 years, γ-glutamyl transferase (GGT) >40 U/L, microvascular invasion (MVI)-positive, and no PA-TACE were identified as independent predictors for HCC recurrence. In further subgroup analysis, PA-TACE significantly improved RFS and OS of HCC patients in MVI-positive group (HR =0.31, P<0.001 for RFS; HR =0.47, P=0.002 for OS). The benefit of PA-TACE on RFS and OS remained significant in MVI-positive group after PSM (HR =0.32, P<0.001 for RFS; HR =0.38, P=0.003 for OS). Furthermore, patients who received PA-TACE developed recurrent HCC with less aggressive tumor characteristics. Conclusions: PA-TACE improves RFS and OS of HCC patients after liver resection, especially in MVI-positive patients. Furthermore, PA-TACE reduces the malignancy of recurrent tumors.

Indexed as

adjuvantHepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)resectiontransarterial chemoembolization (TACE)

Identifiers

PMID41522746
PMCPMC12780597

What Socratic holds

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.