Objective: To evaluate the long-term result of HCC patients treated with TACE using doxorubicin -loaded microspheres, and analyse some prognostic factors. Subject and method: A prospective non-randomized study was done on 105 HCC patients (mean tumor size: 7.8 +/- 2.5mm) undergoing TACE with drug-loaded beads at the No.108 Military Central Hospital, from June 2011 to February 2015. The authors used 1 or 2 from 3 different sizes of DC-Beads (100-300um, 300-500um and 500-700um) loaded with 50-150mg doxorubicin in a procedural session. Survival was calculated from the date of first TACE, using Kaplan Meier estimations. Log-rank test was used to analyze the differences in the mean survival time and the 1-year, 2-year and 3-year overall survival rates of subgroups according to prognostic factors. Result: 105 HCC patients underwent totally 198 TACE procedures. The mean time of follow-up was 19.8 months. The mean overall survival time of all patients was 28 months (95 percent CI:24-31). The cumulative survival rates at 1-year, 2-year and 3-year follow-up were 72.4 percent
55.2 percent and 41.3 percent respectively. Predictors for long-term survival were: Serum AFP, tumor morphology (single nodule or multinodules, mass or diffuse type), tumor size (smaller or larger than 8cm), grade of tumor cell differentiation, vascular invasion, Child Pugh class, Okuda and Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer staging. Conclusion: DC-Beads TACE is an effective treatment for HCC, with the clinical outcome depending on several prognostic factors.