***TASK*** the task is to summarize an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***INPUT*** the input is a biomedical literature 
    ***OUTPUT*** the output is the summary of an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***DOCUMENTATION*** 
    ***EXAMPLES*** 
    Input: Purpose To prospect ively compare SIRT and DEB-TACE for treating hepatocellular carcinoma ( HCC ) . Methods From 04/2010–07/2012 , 24 patients with histologically proven unresectable N0 , M0 HCCs were r and omized 1:1 to receive SIRT or DEB-TACE . SIRT could be repeated once in case of recurrence ; while , TACE was repeated every 6 weeks until no viable tumor tissue was detected by MRI or contraindications prohibited further treatment . Patients were followed-up by MRI every 3 months ; the final evaluation was 05/2013 . Results Both groups were comparable in demographics ( SIRT : 8males/4females , mean age 72 ± 7 years ; TACE : 10males/2females , mean age 71 ± 9 years ) , initial tumor load ( 1 patient ≥25 % in each group ) , and BCLC ( Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer ) stage ( SIRT : 12 × B ; TACE  1 × A , 11 × B ) . Median progression-free survival ( PFS ) was 180 days for SIRT versus 216 days for TACE patients ( p = 0.6193 ) with a median TTP of 371 days versus 336 days , respectively ( p = 0.5764 ) . Median OS was 592 days for SIRT versus 788 days for TACE patients ( p = 0.9271 ) . Seven patients died in each group . Causes of death were liver failure ( n = 4 SIRT group ) , tumor progression ( n = 4 TACE  group ) , cardiovascular events , and inconclusive ( n = 1 in each group ) . Conclusions No significant differences were found in median PFS , OS , and TTP . The lower rate of tumor progression in the SIRT group was nullified by a greater incidence of liver failure . This pilot study is the first prospect i ve r and omized trial comparing SIRT and TACE for treating HCC , and results can be used for sample size calculations of future studies BACKGROUND & AIMS Conventional transarterial chemoembolization ( cTACE ) is used to treat patients with hepatocellular carcinoma ( HCC ) . Radioembolization is a minimally invasive procedure that involves implantation of radioactive micron-sized particles loaded with yttrium-90 ( Y90 ) inside the blood vessels that supply a tumor . We performed a r and omized , phase 2 study to compare the effects of cTACE and Y90 radioembolization in patients with HCC . METHODS From October 2009 through October 2015 , we review ed patients with HCC of all Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer ( BCLC ) stages for eligibility . Of these , 179 patients with BCLC stages A or B met our enrollment criteria and were c and i date s for cTACE or Y90 therapy .  Patients were assigned r and omly to groups that received Y90 therapy ( n = 24 ; 50 % Child-Pugh A ) or cTACE ( n = 21 ; 71 % Child-Pugh A ) . The primary outcome was time to progression ( TTP ) , evaluated by intention-to-treat analysis . Secondary outcomes included safety , rate of response ( based on tumor size and necrosis criteria ) , and Kaplan-Meier survival time . We performed inverse probability of censoring weighting and competing risk analyses . RESULTS Patients in the Y90 radioembolization group had significant longer median TTP ( > 26 mo ) than patients in the cTACE group ( 6.8 mo ; P = .0012 ) ( hazard ratio , 0.122 ; 95 % confidence interval [ CI ] , 0.027 - 0.557 ; P = .007 ) . This was confirmed by competing risk and inverse probability of censoring weighting analyses accounting for transplantation or death . A significantly greater proportion of patients in the cTACE group developed diarrhea ( 21 % ) than in the Y90 group ( 0 % ; P = .031 ) or hypoalbuminemia ( 58 % in the cTACE group vs 4 % in the Y90 group ; P < .001 ) . Similar proportions of patients in each group had a response to therapy , marked by necrosis ( 74 % in the cTACE group vs 87 % in the Y90 group ) ( P = .433 ) . The median survival time , censored to liver transplantation , was 17.7 months for the cTACE group ( 95 % CI , 8.3-not calculable ) vs 18.6 months for the Y90 group ( 95 % CI , 7.4 - 32.5 ) ( P = .99 ) . CONCLUSIONS In a r and omized phase 2 study of patients with HCC of BCLC stages A or B , we found Y90 radioembolization to provide significantly longer TTP than cTACE . Y90 radioembolization provides better tumor control and could reduce drop-out from transplant waitlists . Clinical Trials.gov no. NCT00956930 Background To compare the overall survival of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma ( HCC ) who were treated with lipiodol-based conventional transarterial chemoembolization ( cTACE )  with that of patients treated with drug-eluting bead transarterial chemoembolization ( DEB-TACE ) .  Methods By an electronic search of our radiology information system , we identified 674 patients that received TACE between November 2002 and July 2013 . A total of 520 patients received cTACE , and 154 received DEB-TACE .  In total , 424 patients were excluded for the following reasons : tumor type other than HCC ( n = 91 ) , liver transplantation after TACE ( n = 119 ) , lack of histological grading ( n = 58 ) , incomplete laboratory values ( n = 15 ) , other reasons ( e.g. , previous systemic chemotherapy ) ( n = 114 ) , or were lost to follow-up ( n = 27 ) . Therefore , 250 patients were finally included for comparative analysis ( n = 174 cTACE ; n = 76 DEB-TACE ) . Results There were no significant differences between the two groups regarding sex , overall status ( Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer classification ) , liver function ( Child-Pugh ) , portal invasion , tumor load , or tumor grading ( all p > 0.05 ) . The mean number of treatment sessions was 4 ± 3.1 in the cTACE group versus 2.9 ± 1.8 in the DEB-TACE group ( p = 0.01 ) . Median survival was 409 days ( 95 % CI : 321–488 days ) in the cTACE group , compared with 369 days ( 95 % CI : 310–589 days ) in the DEB-TACE group ( p = 0.76 ) . In the subgroup of Child A patients , the survival was 602 days ( 484–792 days ) for cTACE versus 627 days ( 364–788 days ) for DEB-TACE ( p = 0.39 ) . In Child B/C patients , the survival was considerably lower : 223 days ( 165–315 days ) for cTACE versus 226 days ( 114–335 days ) for DEB-TACE ( p = 0.53 ) . Conclusion The present study showed no significant difference in overall survival  between cTACE and DEB-TACE in patients with HCC . However , the significantly lower number of treatments needed in the DEB-TACE group makes it a more appealing treatment option than cTACE for appropriately selected patients with unresectable HCC Background : Transcatheter arterial chemoembolization ( TACE ) is the st and ard treatment in selected patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma ( HCC ) . Drug-eluting particles are developed to reduce side effects and improve efficacy . We present safety data of a prospect i ve r and omized phase II study with doxorubicin-eluting superabsorbent polymer ( SAP ) microspheres . Material and Methods : We prospect ively included 30 HCC patients with different Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer ( BCLC ) stages ( A = 3 , B = 19 , C = 8) and r and omly assigned them to receive conventional TACE ( n = 14 ) ( control group ) or doxorubicin-eluting SAP microspheres ( n = 16 ) . The  doxorubicin plasma level was assessed at different time points , biochemical analysis was performed , and side effects were reported following the Common Toxicity Criteria . Tumor response was assessed at 6 weeks according to the modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors ( RECIST ) criteria . Results : There was a significantly lower plasma peak concentration ( Cmax ) of doxorubicin and smaller area under the curve ( AUC ) with SAP microspheres ( mean Cmax 495 ± 293.9 ng/ml , mean AUC 69.7 ± 26.9 ng/ml min ) compared to controls ( mean Cmax 1,928 ± 560.8 ng/ml , mean AUC 165 ± 32.3 ng/ml/min ; both p < 0.001 ) . Furthermore , there were less grade 3 and no grade 4 adverse events in the SAP microsphere group . Tumor response was comparable between the groups . Conclusions : TACE with SAP microspheres leads to low plasma levels of the cytotoxic drug and therefore minimizes toxicity compared to conventional TACE Background : Transcatheter arterial chemoembolisation ( TACE ) is the treatment of choice for intermediate stage hepatocellular carcinoma ( HCC ) .  Doxorubicin-loaded drug-eluting beads (DEB)-TACE is expected to improve the performance of conventional TACE ( cTACE ) . The aim of this study was to compare DEB-TACE with cTACE in terms of time-to-tumour progression ( TTP ) , adverse events ( AEs ) , and 2-year survival . Methods : Patients were r and omised one-to-one to undergo cTACE or DEB-TACE and followed-up for at least 2 years or until death . Transcatheter arterial chemoembolisation was repeated ‘ on-dem and ’ . Results : We enrolled 177 patients : 89 underwent DEB-TACE  and 88 cTACE . The median number of procedures was 2 in each arm , and the in-hospital stay was 3 and 4 days , respectively ( P=0.323 ) . No differences were found in local and overall tumour response . The median TTP was 9 months in both arms . The AE incidence and severity did not differ between the arms , except for post-procedural pain , more frequent and severe after cTACE ( P<0.001 ) . The 1- and 2-year survival rates were 86.2 % and 56.8 % after DEB-TACE and 83.5 % and 55.4 % after cTACE ( P=0.949 ) . Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group ( ECOG ) , serum albumin , and tumour number independently predicted survival ( P<0.05 ) . Conclusions : The DEB-TACE and the cTACE are equally effective and safe , with the only advantage of DEB-TACE being less post-procedural abdominal pain AIM To prospect ively evaluate the efficacy and safety of Selective Internal Radiation ( SIR ) Spheres ( Sirtex Medical , Sydney , NSW , Australia ) in patients with unresectable primary or secondary hepatic malignancies . METHODS We report our experience of SIR sphere therapy at three Australian centres . Patients with previously untreated colorectal cancer ( CRC ) received concurrent 5FU , other patients with CRC received 5-FU at investigator discretion and all other patients received SIR spheres alone . RESULTS Forty-six patients were enrolled between January 2002 and June 2003 . The majority ( 32 patients ) had metastatic colorectal cancer and five patients had hepatocellular carcinoma . The median age of patients was 64 years ( range 46 - 78 years ) . Forty-three patients were evaluable for response . There were 12 partial responses , of which 10 were in patients with CRC . The median duration of response for all patients was 8.6 months ( range 2 - 21 months ) . Overall treatment related toxicity was acceptable . Significant late toxicity included four cases of severe gastric ulceration , despite st and ard work-up and treatment by experienced interventional radiologists . CONCLUSION In this series of patients , treatment with SIR-spheres has demonstrated modest activity , mostly observed in patients with CRC . Toxicity was substantial in a small number of patients BACKGROUND / AIMS This study assesses the safety , pharmacokinetics and efficacy of transarterial chemoembolization using drug eluting beads ( DEB ) , an embolizing device that slowly releases chemotherapy to decrease systemic toxicity . METHODS Twenty-seven Child-Pugh A cirrhotics ( 76 % male , 59 % HCV ) with untreated large/multifocal HCC received chemoembolization with doxorubicin loaded DEBs at doses adjusted for bilirubin and body surface ( range : 47 - 150 mg ) . Clinical and analytical data were recorded at 24 and 48 h , 7 , 14 and 30 days after first and second TACE . Response rate was assessed by CT at 6 months . Blood sample s were obtained in 13 
    Output:
    
The current meta- analysis suggests that DEB-TACE is superior to both TARE and cTACE in terms of OS .
TARE has significantly lower complications than both DEB-TACE and cTACE for patients with HCC .