Key clinical point: Postoperative adjuvant stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) on suboptimal resection margin safely and effectively improves disease-free survival (DFS) and prevents local recurrence in microvascular invasion (MVI)-positive hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
Major finding: SBRT vs. surgery alone led to significantly higher 1-year (92.1% vs. 76.3%) and 5-year (56.1% vs. 26.3%) DFS rates ( P = .005) and similar local recurrence ( P = .236) rates. No grade ≥3 adverse events were noted.
Study details: This randomized controlled trial included 76 adult patients with MVI-positive HCC who underwent marginal resection and were randomly assigned to receive postoperative adjuvant SBRT or surgery alone.
Disclosures: The study was funded by the Clinical Science and Technology Innovation Project of Shenkang Hospital Development Center, Shanghai Jiading District Fund, and Shanghai Municipal Health Commission Program, China. No conflicts of interest were reported.
Source: Shi C et al. Adjuvant stereotactic body radiotherapy after marginal resection for hepatocellular carcinoma with microvascular invasion: A randomised controlled trial. Eur J Cancer. 2022;166:176-184 (Mar 16). Doi: 10.1016/j.ejca.2022.02.012