Clinical results of proton beam therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma over 5cm.

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of proton beam therapy for large hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Twenty-four patients with a HCC larger than 5.0cm were treated with proton beam therapy at our institution between 2008 and 2015. The clinical stage was I in 2 patients, II in 9 patients, and IIIB in 13 patients. Ten of the 24 patients were not surgical candidates because of advanced HCC or old age. Median tumor size was 90mm (range, 50-180mm). Median total dose delivered was 72.6 Gray-equivalents (GyE) in 22 fractions (range, 60.8-85.8 GyE). Median follow-up period was 17.5months (range, 3-70months). Local control rate at 2years was 87.0%. The 2-year overall survival rate was 52.4%. The predominant tumor progression pattern was new hepatic tumor development outside the irradiated field. No acute or late treatment-related toxicity of grade 3 or higher, other than dermatitis, was observed. These results show that proton beam therapy offers an effective and safe method for treating patients with large HCC. Proton beam therapy represents a promising method for treatment of large-volume HCC.