Clinical effectiveness of DEM-TACE combined with first-line chemotherapy as the initial treatment for patients with unresectable intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma

Purpose This study aimed to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the combination of DEM-TACE with chemotherapy in treating unresectable intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC). Materials and Methods 70 patients diagnosed with unresectable ICC between Jan. 2016 and Dec. 2020 were retrospectively included in this study. Of these, 39 patients received DEM-TACE and first-line chemotherapy (D-TACE+Chemo group) and 31 received chemotherapy alone (Chemo group). Propensity score matching (PSM) was performed to reduce selection bias between the D-TACE+Chemo and the Chemo groups. Differences in tumor response, progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) were compared between the two groups . Results The patients in the D-TACE+Chemo group had better median OS (18.6 vs. 11.9 months, P=0.018), median PFS (11.9 vs. 6.9 months, P=0.033), and objective response rates (56.8% vs. 13.3%, P < 0.001) than those in the Chemo group. TRAEs showed that a higher incidence of transient elevation of transaminase and abdominal pain in the D-TACE+Chemo group than in the Chemo group (P < 0.001). Conclusions Compared with chemotherapy alone, DEM-TACE combined with first-line chemotherapy may be a viable and safe treatment option for unresectable ICC.