Abstract: Objective The aim of this study was to explore clinical benefits of drug-loaded microsphere transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (D-TACE) in treatment of patients with primary liver cancer(PLC). Methods 84 patients with PLC were encountered in our hospital between January 2022 and January 2024, and were randomly assigned to underwent D-TACE in 42 cases in observation or underwent conventional TACE in another 42 cases in control. Clinical efficacy was evaluated by mRECIST criteria three months after operation, and objective remission rate (ORR) and disease control rate (DCR) were recorded. All patients were followed-up for one year, and progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were compared. Results There were no significant differences as respect to ORR(54.8% vs. 50.0%) or DCR (97.6% vs. 90.5) between the two groups (P>0.05); by end of one-month after treatment, serum ALT level in the observation was (46.5±8.2)U/L, much lower than [(68.9±11.4)U/L, P＜0.05] in the control, while there were no significant differences as respect to serum bilirubin and AFP levels between the two groups (P＞0.05); one-year survival rate in the observation was 69.1%, not significant different compared to 59.5% in the control (x²=0.830, P=0.362); either PFS (10.9±0.3) mon, or OS(11.1±0.3)mon, both not significant different as compared to (9.9±0.4) mon(Log-Rank x²=3.287, P=0.070) or (10.0±0.4) mon (Log-Rank x²=3.397, P=0.065) in the control group. Conclusion D-TACE could decrease liver injury in treatment of patients with PLC, and the clinical benefits needs long-term observation.

Key words: Hepatoma, Transcatheter arterial chemoembolization, Drug-eluting bead, Therapy