Efficacy of percutaneous ethanol injection therapy in Korean with hepatocellular carcinoma

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Percutaneous ethanol injection therapy (PEIT) is widely used for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, its long-term therapeutic efficacy is not verified in Korea, one of hepatitis B virus (HBV) endemic areas. Thus, this study was to assess its efficacy and prognostic factors affecting tumor-free survival following PEIT in Korean HCC patients. METHODS: From 1997 to 1999, 100 consecutive patients who had 1 to 3 HCC nodules of maximum diameter less than 3 cm and underwent PEIT were enrolled. Therapeutic efficacy, overall and tumor-free survival rates were assessed during follow-up periods. RESULTS: In 83 patients, HCC nodules were completely ablated by PEIT. The cumulative 1, 2, and 3 year overall survival rates were 98%, 96%, and 88%, respectively. The cumulative 1, 2, and 3 year tumor-free survival rates were 73%, 50%, and 37%, respectively. Larger tumors (>or= 2 cm) were associated with a higher local recurrence rate. CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrate that PEIT is therapeutically useful in patients with HCC less than 4 in number and less than 3 cm in diameter. However, since multiple or large tumors are associated with low tumor-free survival or high local recurrence rates, PEIT for these tumors and the subsequent post-treatment follow-up should be performed carefully.