***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 compare short- and long-term clinical outcomes after conventional transarterial chemoembolization and drug-eluting bead ( DEB ) transarterial chemoembolization in hepatocellular carcinoma ( HCC ) . MATERIAL S AND METHODS Patients with unresectable HCC unsuitable for ablative therapies were r and omly assigned to undergo conventional or DEB chemoembolization . The primary endpoints of the study were safety , toxicity , and tumor response at 1 month . Secondary endpoints were number of repeated chemoembolization cycles , time to recurrence and local recurrence , time to radiologic progression , and survival . RESULTS In total , 67 patients ( mean age , 70 y ± 7.7 ) were evaluated . Mean follow-up was 816 days ± 361 . Two periprocedural major complications occurred ( 2.9 % ) that were treated by medical therapy without the need for other interventions . A significant increase in alanine aminotransferase levels 24 hours after treatment was reported , which was significantly greater after conventional chemoembolization ( n = 34 ) than after DEB chemoembolization ( n = 33 ; preprocedure , 60 IU ± 44 vs 74 IU ± 62 , respectively ; at 24 h , 216 IU ± 201 vs 101 IU ± 89 , respectively ; P = 0.007 ) . No other differences were observed in liver toxicity between groups . At 1 month , complete and partial tumor response rates were 70.6 % and 29.4 % , respectively , in the conventional chemoembolization group and 51.5 % and 48.5 % , respectively , in the DEB chemoembolization group . No differences were observed between groups in time to recurrence and local recurrence , radiologic progression , and survival . CONCLUSIONS Conventional chemoembolization and DEB chemoembolization have a limited impact on liver function on short- and long-term follow-up and are associated with favorable clinical outcomes PURPOSE To evaluate safety and efficacy of combined transarterial chemoembolization ( TACE ) with doxorubicin-eluting beads ( DEB ) and sorafenib in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma ( HCC ) . PATIENTS AND METHODS A prospect i ve single-center phase II study was undertaken involving patients with unresectable HCC . The protocol involved sorafenib 400 mg twice per day combined with DEB-TACE . Safety and response were assessed . Results DEB-TACE in combination with sorafenib was successfully administered in 35 patients : mean age , 63 years ; Child 's A , 89 % ; Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer stage C , 64 % ; Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 0 and 1 , 46 % and 54 % , respectively ; and mean index tumor size , 7.7 cm ( st and ard deviation , ± 4.2 cm ) . Patients underwent 128 cycles of therapy ( sorafenib plus DEB-TACE , 60 cycles ; sorafenib alone , 68 cycles ) . Median number of cycles per patient was two ( range , one to five cycles ) ; median number of days treated with sorafenib was 71 ( range , 4 to 620 days ) . The most common toxicities during cycle one were fatigue ( 94 % ) , anorexia ( 67 % ) , alterations in liver enzymes ( 64 % ) , and dermatologic adverse effects ( 48 % ) . Although most patients experienced at least one grade 3 to 4 toxicity , most toxicities were minor ( grade 1 to 2 , 83 % v grade 3 to 4 , 17 % ) . Toxicity during cycle two was decreased . Over the course of the study , there were 40 sorafenib dose interruptions and 25 sorafenib dose reductions . Sorafenib plus DEB-TACE was associated with a disease control rate of 95 % ( Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors Group)/100 % ( European Association for the Study of the Liver [ EASL ] ) , with an objective response of 58 % ( EASL ) . CONCLUSION The combination of sorafenib and DEB-TACE in patients with unresectable HCC  is well tolerated and safe , with most toxicities  related to sorafenib  . Toxicity is manageable with dose adjustment of sorafenib . Preliminary efficacy data are promising 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 OBJECTIVE To compare radiofrequency ablation ( RFA ) or microwave ablation ( MWA ) and transcatheter arterial chemoembolization ( TACE ) with RFA or MWA monotherapy in hepatocellular carcinoma ( HCC ) . METHODS A prospect i ve , r and omized , controlled trial was conducted on 94 patients with HCC ≤7 cm at a single tertiary referral center from June 2008 to June 2010 at the Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery , the Second Affiliated Hospital of Southeast University . The patients were r and omly assigned into the TACE-RFA or TACE-MWA ( combined treatment group ) and the RFA-alone or MWA-alone groups ( control group ) . The primary end point was overall survival . The secondary end point was recurrence-free survival , and the tertiary end point was adverse effects . RESULTS Until the time of censor , 17 patients in the TACE-RFA or TACE-MWA group had died . The median follow-up time of the patients who were still alive for the TACE-RFA or TACE-MWA group was 47.5±11.3 months ( range , 29 to 62 months ) . The 1- , 3- and 5-year overall survival for the TACE-RFA or TACE-MWA group was 93.6 % , 68.1 % and 61.7 % , respectively . Twenty-five patients in the RFA or MWA group had died . The median follow-up time of the patients who were still alive for the RFA or MWA group was 47.0±12.9 months ( range , 28 to 62 months ) . The 1- , 3- and 5-year overall survival for the RFA or MWA group was 85.1 % , 59.6 % and 44.7 % , respectively . The patients in the TACE-RFA or TACE-MWA group had better overall survival than the RFA or MWA group [ hazard ratio ( HR ) , 0.526 ; 95 % confidence interval ( 95 % CI ) , 0.334 - 0.823 ; P=0.002 ] , and showed better recurrence-free survival than the RFA or MWA group ( HR , 0.582 ; 95 % CI , 0.368 - 0.895 ; P=0.008 ) . CONCLUSIONS RFA or MWA combined with TACE in the treatment of HCC ≤7 cm was superior to RFA or MWA alone in improving survival by reducing arterial and portal blood flow due to TACE with iodized oil before RFA OBJECTIVE This study evaluated the safety and objective response of combining 131I-labeled-metuximab ( Licartin ) with transarterial chemoembolization ( TACE ) in the treatment of unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma ( HCC ) . MATERIAL S AND METHODS In a multicenter open-label clinical trial , 341 enrolled patients with stage III/IV HCC according to TNM criteria were nonr and omly assigned to a trial group ( n=167 ) and a control group ( n=174 ) , undergoing TACE following hepatic intra-arterial injection of licartin or TACE alone from July 2007 to July 2009 . Radiopharmaceutical distribution was evaluated . The primary endpoint was overall survival ; secondary endpoints included time-to-progression ( TTP ) , toxicity and adverse events ( AEs ) . RESULTS The radiobiological distribution demonstrated better localization of licartin in liver tumors than other tissues ( P<0.01 ) . The organ absorbed doses to liver and red marrow were 3.19 ± 1.01 Gy and 0.55 ± 0.22 Gy , respectively . The 1-year survival rate was significantly higher [ 79.47 % vs. 65.59 % , hazard ratio ( HR ) , 0.598 , P=0.041 ] and TTP significantly improved ( 6.82 ± 1.28 vs. 4.7 ± 1.14 months , P=0.037 ) compared with the control group . Patients at stage III achieved more benefit of one year survival than stage IV in the trial group ( 86.9 % vs. 53.8 % , P<0.001 ) . There were significant different toxicities in leukocytopenia , thrombocytopenia and increased total bilirubin level [ P<0.001 , P=0.013 , P<0.01 , relative risk ( RR ) 1.63 , 1.33 , 1.43 ] , but no differences in severe AEs of upper GI hemorrhage and severe liver dysfunction between the groups ( 5.39 % vs. 2.3 % , P=0.136 ) . CONCLUSIONS Owing to excellent tumor-targeting , promised efficacy and favourable toxicity profile , the novel combination therapy of licartin and TACE could be applied in patients with unresectable HCC BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE Transcatheter arterial chemoembolization ( TACE ) is the routine treatment for unresectable primary liver cancer , but 3-year survival rate of patients received TACE alone is only about 20 % . This research was to evaluate efficacy of external radiotherapy ( RT ) combined with TACE on unresectable primary live cancer . METHODS From Jun. 1994 to Apr. 2002 , 114 patients with unresectable primary liver cancer were non-r and omized to receive TACE plus RT ( 54 patients ) , or TACE alone ( 60 patients ) as control . For TACE , after skiagram confirmed catheterization , suspension of 300 mg of carboplatin , 50 - 60 mg of epirubicin , 14 - 20 mg of mitomycin , and 10 - 30 ml of iodized oil was perfused into hepatic arteries , 1 - 2 mm of Gelfoam particles was given to embolize hepatic arteries according to blood supply conditions of tumors , this process was repeated every 4 - 8 weeks . Either group was treated with 1 - 4 sessions of TACE . In TACE+RT group , patients received radiation on tumor and generous margin 21 - 28 days after TACE . The radiation dose was 46 - 60 Gy in daily 2 Gy fractions . RESULTS In TACE+RT group , response rate ( AFP titer decrease of > 50 % ) was 61.1 % , and 1- , 2- , 3-year survival rates of TACE+RT group were significantly higher than those of TACE group ( 66.5 % vs. 53.9 % , 48.4 % vs. 37.2 % , and 37.4 % vs. 17.8 % , P<0.05 ) . Three-year survival rate correlated with tumor size , liver function grade , and portal vein embolus . CONCLUSION TACE combined with RT may prolong survival time of patients with unresectable primary live cancer AIM 
    Output:
    
Conclusions When considering the efficacy , combination therapy with TACE seemed to offer clear advantages for patients with unresectable HCC .
TACE + Three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy , TACE + Percutaneous ethanol injection , TACE + Percutaneous microwave coagulation therapy , and TACE + Percutaneous acetic acid injection are likely the best options to consider in the application of combination treatment