Author(s)

Koichi Hamada^1,2*, Satoshi Saitoh³, Shigeki Imai⁴, Noriyuki Nishino², Yoshinori Horikawa², Michitaka Honda^1,2

¹Department of Minimally Invasive Surgical and Medical Oncology, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan.
²Department of Gastroenterology, Southern-Tohoku General Hospital, Fukushima, Japan.
³Department of Hepatology, Toranomon Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
⁴Department of Radiology, Southern-Tohoku General Hospital, Fukushima, Japan.

Background: Miriplatin is a slow-release, lipophilic platinum complex, developed to produce a superior antitumor effect for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the miriplatin suspension is highly viscous and can form an embolism in the hepatic artery, which can result in insufficient antitumor effect. Thus, reducing the viscosity of the suspension compound by combining it with the less-viscous cisplatin suspension might reduce or even prevent vessel embolism, while providing the quick-release effects of cisplatin. Purpose: To compare the outcomes of therapy using miriplatin plus cisplatin and cisplatin monotherapy in transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) for HCC. Methods: We retrospectively evaluated a total of 87 patients with Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stage A or B HCC who received conventional TACE using a combination of platinum agents (cisplatin and miriplatin) (n = 50) or cisplatin alone (n = 37) for the first time from September 2006 to December 2012. Short term therapeutic effect was measured by dynamic computed tomography 1 - 3 months after TACE, in reference to the modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors. Treatment-related adverse effects were graded by the National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria (ver. 4.0). 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival rates were calculated. Subgroup analyses were performed by Child-Pugh classification and BCLC criteria. Results: Median duration of follow-up was 35 months (range 7 - 90). Median overall survival was 38 months. Patients who had combination therapy had better 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival rates: 100%, 56.7%, and 26.2%, respectively, compared to monotherapy: 100%, 42.1%, and 9.0%, respectively (p = 0.034). No serious complication or treatment-related mortality was observed in both groups. Conclusion: TACE using miriplatin plus cisplatin was related to a prolonged survival, with comparable adverse effects of TACE using cisplatin alone.

Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Transcatheter Arterial Chemoembolization, Miriplatin, Cisplatin

Hamada, K. , Saitoh, S. , Imai, S. , Nishino, N. , Horikawa, Y. and Honda, M. (2018) Effects of Transcatheter Arterial Chemoembolization for Unresectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma Using a Combination of Platinum Agents (Cisplatin plus Miriplatin): A Retrospective Comparison with Cisplatin Monotherapy. Open Journal of Radiology, 8, 260-273. doi: 10.4236/ojrad.2018.84029.