Hyperbaric oxygen therapy for hepatic dysfunction caused by transcatheter arterial embolization for hepatocellular carcinoma

• Published in: Kanzo Vol. 34; no. 12; pp. 975 - 982
• Main Authors: KATO, Hirotoshi, YOSHIKAWA, Masaharu, EBARA, Masaaki, FURUYAMA, Nobuaki, OHTO, Masao
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English; Japanese
• Published: The Japan Society of Hepatology 1993
• Subjects: AKBR; HBO; TAE
• ISSN: 0451-4203; 1881-3593
• DOI: 10.2957/kanzo.34.975

Forty-four patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and liver cirrhosis were randomized to be treated with Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBO) after transcatheter aterial embolization (TAE) for HCC or not to be treated with HBO. The HBO had been proved to have a good effect on the arterial blood ketone body ratio (AKBR) in the preliminary experiment conducted on rats with partial hepatic ischemia. The AKBR decreased immediately after TAE, but in the group treated with HBO (TAE-HBO group), this was followed by a rapid recovery above the control level. The AKBR in the TAE-HBO group was significantly higher than that in group untreated with HBO (TAE group) at three days and one week after TAE. The prothrombin time was shortened in the TAE-HBO group at three days and one week after TAE. There were no significant differences between the two groups in the maximal rate of decrease in tumor size evaluated within a year after TAE. These results demonstrate that HBO does not exert a bad influence on the anti-cancer effect of TAE and is a beneficial treatment for hepatic dysfunction arising just after TAE.