Abstract: Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the survival of patients with primary liver cancer (PLC) and different gross tumor volume (GTV) after radiotherapy three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3DCRT). Methods 75 patients with PLC were encountered in our hospital between January 2018 and December 2020, and were divided into group A (n=20,< 125 cm³), group B (n=37,126-999 cm³) and group C (n=18,>1000 cm³) based on different GTV. All patients received 3DCRT. Serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), alpha-fetoprotein heterogeneity L3 (AFP-L3), Golgi protein 73 (GP73), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) levels were detected by ELISA. Results At the end of 4 weeks after treatment, the objective response rate (ORR) in group A was 70.0%, significantly higher than 51.4% in group B or 33.3% in group C(P＜0.05); serum AFP, AFP-L3, GP73, VEGF and MMP levels in group A were (121.0±20.8)ng/mL, (5.9±0.9)ng/mL, (62.8±3.5)ng/mL, (265.3±20.4)pg/mL and (60.2±11.7)ng/L, significantly lower than [(133.0±18.1)ng/mL, (6.5±0.7)ng/mL,(71.4±3.2)ng/mL,(296.1±30.9)pg/mL and (72.5±7.3)ng/L, respectively, P＜0.05] in group B or [(143.0±15.3)ng/mL, (6.9±0.8)ng/mL,(78.3±3.7)ng/mL,(320.5±32.7)pg/mL and (85.5±15.6)ng/L, respectively, P＜0.05] in group C; the one-year cumulative survival rate in group A was 72.2%(13/18), significantlyhigher than 52.9%(18/34) in group B or 41.2%(7/17, P＜0.05) ingroup C. Conclusion The short-term efficacy of patients with PLC after 3DCRT treatmentmight be related to the GTV, and needs further clinical investigation.

Key words: Hepatoma, Three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy, Gross tumor volume, Survival