Abstract: Objective To determine the effect of recombinant adenovirus p53 （rAd-p53） therapy in combination with transcatheter hepatic arterial themoembolization（TACE） for patients with primary liver cancer （PLC）. Methods A total of 72 patients with advanced PLC were enrolled in this study from Jan. 2008 to Dec. 2014. Patients were divided into TACE group （mitomycin 8 mg,epirubicin 5 mg/m²,oxaliplatin 30 mg/m²,n=36） and p53 treatment group （rAd-p53,mitomycin 8 mg,epirubicin 5mg/m²,oxaliplatin 30 mg/m²,n=36）. The procedure was repeated once every 28 days for 4 times as a course. The therapeutic effects were evaluated according to the clinical symptoms,CT scans and liver functions. Results In TACE group,the total effective rate（CR+PR） was 50% including no complete response （CR） and partial response（PR） of 50%,stable disease （SD） was 5.6%,and progressive disease（PD） was 44.4%;In p53 treatment group,the total effective rate was 69.4%,including CR of 5.6%,PR of 63.8%,SD of 5.6%,and PD of 25%;The Karnofsky performance score in p53 treatment group was improved better than in TACE group（P<0.05）;The adverse effects in rAd-p53-treated patients was transient and self-limited fever. Conclusion The rAd-p53 therapy in combination with TACE is effective for patients with advanced PLC.

Key words: Primary liver cancer, Gene therapy, p53, Adenovirus, Transcatheter arterial chemoembolization