A group at Stanford University culled data on HCC patients in the VHA's database who underwent ablation, radioembolization, or chemoembolization. They split the patients into two groups: Group A consisted of patients diagnosed from 2006 to 2011 and group B was made up of patients diagnosed from 2012 to 2017 to predate use of newer systemic therapies and allow for five-year follow-up of both groups.
According to the findings, interventional radiology clinic/procedure visits for HCC patients increased nationwide from 736 in 2006 to 9,535 in 2019. Analysis revealed that group B had an increase in median overall survival: 766 days compared with 496 days for group A (p < 0.0001).
"While the increase in [overall survival] is likely multifactorial, the correlation with increasing IR services requires further exploration," noted resident Dr. Lynne Martin, who will present the findings.
