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CASE REPORT article

Front. Oncol.

Sec. Gastrointestinal Cancers: Hepato Pancreatic Biliary Cancers

TACE combined with sorafenib induces complete remission in an elderly patient with hepatocellular carcinoma, hepatic venous tumor thrombus, and diffuse lung metastasis: A case study and literature review

Provisionally accepted
Guangsheng  ZhaoGuangsheng Zhao1Song  LiuSong Liu2ShunHang  YinShunHang Yin1Zhongyi  DingZhongyi Ding1Shunxiong  TangShunxiong Tang1Jun  ZhouJun Zhou1*Yuewei  ZhangYuewei Zhang3*
  • 1Affiliated Zhongshan Hospital of Dalian University, Dalian, China
  • 2Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China
  • 3Beijing Tsinghua Changgeng Hospital, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with hepatic venous tumor thrombus (HVTT) and synchronous lung metastases has a poor prognosis and limited treatment options. We present a 70-year-old male with chronic hepatitis B and BCLC stage C HCC, featuring a large liver tumor (14×12×10 cm), HVTT, and diffuse lung metastases. The patient was treated with transarterial gene embolization (TAGE) using gelatin sponge microparticles and rAd-p53 (Gendicine®), followed by sorafenib. Imaging showed rapid tumor necrosis at 4 days, significant reduction of lung nodules at 4 weeks, and complete tumor necrosis with resolution of lung metastases at 15 weeks. The patient achieved complete remission and remains alive with 14-year survival.

Keywords: Gelatin sponge particles, Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Recombinant adenovirus p53 injection, Sorafenib, Transcatheter arterial chemoembolization

Received: 26 Aug 2025; Accepted: 09 Dec 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Zhao, Liu, Yin, Ding, Tang, Zhou and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence:
Jun Zhou
Yuewei Zhang

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