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DOI: 10.1055/s-2008-1081517
Octreotide treatment of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma – A retrospective single centre controlled study
Background and Aims: Treatment of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with octreotide gave conflicting results on influence on survival. We analyzed retrospectively the survival of our patient population treated with octreotide monotherapy and compared it to patients who received either TACE, multimodal therapy or palliative care.
Methods: 95 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in BCLC stage A or B, who received either TACE, multimodal therapy, long-acting octreotide [Sandostatin LAR] or palliative care were reviewed for this retrospective study.
Results: Survival rates of patients with BCLC stage B and any “active“ treatment (long-acting octreotide [Sandostatin LAR], TACE or multimodal therapy) were significantly higher (22.4, 22.0; 35.5 months) compared to patients who received palliative care only (2.9 months). Survival rates of patients with BCLC stage A and “active“ treatment (31.4, 37.3, 40.2 months) compared to patients who received only palliative care (15.1 months) did not show statistically significant differences.
However, median survival among patients with various forms of “active“ treatment did not show significant differences (BCLC stage A and B; log rank test: P>0.05). In particular, octreotide monotherapy showed a similar outcome compared to patients who received TACE or multimodal therapy.
Conclusion: This retrospective analysis of survival of BCLC stage matched patients with HCC showed that octreotide treatment produces a similar survival benefit as TACE or multimodal therapy as compared to no active treatment. Given the few side effects of long-acting octreotide [Sandostatin LAR] this treatment seems to be a valuable therapeutic option for patients with HCC and needs further evaluation in randomised controlled studies according to BCLC stage.