Clinical value of circulating tumor cells for the prognosis of postoperative transarterial chemoembolization therapy.

The aim of this study was to clarify circulating tumor cells (CTCs) count could reflect the effect of postoper- ative transarterial chemoembolization therapy. A single-blind, two-parallel group, randomized trial was conducted in Guangdong General Hospital, Guangzhou, China, with patients: (1) with biopsy-confirmed hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and (2) undergoing partial resection. Patients in tran- sarterial chemoembolization (TACE) group received TACE 1 month after resection, while control group received no managements. The time points for blood collection to count CTCs were as follows: (1) 1 month after resection (also 1 day before TACE); (2) 1 month after TACE; (3) 2 months after TACE; (4) 3 months after TACE; (5) 6 months after TACE; and (6) 1 year after TACE. A diagnosis of recurrence was based on computed tomography scans, magnetic resonance imaging, or digital subtraction angiography. We compared recurrence