MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective cohort study of patients undergoing either treatment was carried out from January 2009 to December 2014. Tumour response to the procedures was evaluated according to the modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (mRECIST). Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to assess and compare the overall survival in the two groups.
RESULTS: A total of 79 patients were analysed (34 had c-TACE, 45 had DEB-TACE) with a median follow-up of 11.8 months. A total of 20 patients in the c-TACE group (80%) and 12 patients in the DEB-TACE group (44%) died during the follow up period. The median survival durations in the c-TACE and DEB-TACE groups were 4.9 ± 3.2 months and 8.3 ± 2.0 months respectively (p=0.008). There was no statistically significant difference noted among the two groups with respect to mRECIST criteria.
CONCLUSIONS: DEB-TACE demonstrated a significant improvement in overall survival rates for patients with unresectable HCC when compared to c-TACE. It is a safe and promising approach and should potentially be considered as a standard of care in the management of unresectable HCC.
OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the anticancer effects of Strobilanthes crispus juice on hepatocellular carcinoma cells.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: MTT assays, flow cytometry, comet assays and the reverse transcription- polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) were used to determine the effects of juice on DNA damage and cancer cell numbers.
RESULTS: This juice induced apoptosis after exposure of the HepG2 cell line for 72 h. High percentages of apoptotic cell death and DNA damage were seen at the juice concentrations above 0.1%. It was found that the juice was not toxic for normal cells. In addition, juice exposure increased the expression level of c-myc gene and reduced the expression level of c-fos and c-erbB2 genes in HepG2 cells. The cytotoxic effects of juice on abnormal cells were in dose dependent.
CONCLUSIONS: It was concluded that the Strobilanthes crispus juice may have chemopreventive effects on hepatocellular carcinoma cells.