Abstract: Objective  To observe the clinical curative effet and survival condition of sorafenib for patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. Methods  Sixty-six patients with hepatocellular carcinoma during January 2013 to January 2015 in Chang′an Hospital were included. All patients were randomly divided into transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) group (n=33) and sorafenib+TACE group (n=33) according to the random digital table method. Followed up for 2 years, we observed the clinical curative effect, including 6-months survival rate, 1-year survival rate, the changes of serum alpha fetoprotein level before and after the treatment, survival time and related adverse reactions. Results  The disease control rate of sorafenib+TACE group was 84.85% (28/33), which was significantly higher than that of TACE group (60.61%, 20/33), and the difference was statistically significant (χ²=4.889, P=0.027). The median survival time of patients with sorafenib+TACE group was 20.30 months, which was longer than that of TACE group (12.50 months), and the difference was statistically significant (χ²=29.570, P=0.000). The 6-months and 1-year survival rates in patients with sorafenib+TACE group were 93.93% and 75.76%, respectively, which were significantly higher than those of TACE group (84.85%, 51.52%). The rate of 1-year recurrence and metastasis of sorafenib+TACE group was 21.21%, which was lower than that of TACE group (39.39%), and the difference was statistically significant (χ²=2.908, P=0.041). After 6 months treatment, the serum level of alpha fetoprotein in patients with sorafenib+TACE group was (1 911.53±457.86)ng/ml, which was significantly lower than that of TACE group ［(2 979.83±842.71)ng/ml］, and the difference was statistically significant (t=11.996, P=0.001). The median survival time of patients with Child-Pugh A was significantly longer than that of patients with ChildPugh B (20.50 months vs. 13.95 months), with a significant difference (χ²=3.973, P=0.046). Patients in sorafenib+TACE group and TACE group had adverse reactions including nausea, vomiting and abnormal liver function, and there was significant difference in the incidence of untoward effects (87.88% vs. 60.61%; χ²=6.418, P=0.011). Conclusion  The application of sorafenib therapy in the treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma based on TACE can effectively improve the disease control rate, prolong the survival time of patients and improve the survival rate of patients.

Key words: Carcinoma, hepatocellular, Drug therapy, Prognosis, Sorafenib