Objective  To observe the effects of transcatheter hepatic arterial chemoembolization combined with radiotherapy on the survival of primary hepatic carcinoma patients with portal vein tumor thrombus.

  Methods  The medical data of 52 primary hepatic carcinoma patients with portal vein tumor thrombus admitted to Fujian Cancer Hospital between January 2005 and January 2010 were collected. The patients were divided into observation and control groups. The 32 patients in the observation group received transcatheter hepatic arterial chemoembolization combined with three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy. The 20 patients in the control group received transcatheter hepatic arterial chemoembolization only. The curative effects, survival time, 1-year survival rates, and survival quality scores were observed.

  Results  The total effective rate of the observation group was 78.1%, which was significantly higher than that of the control group (45.0%). Moreover, the 1-year survival rate of the observation group was significantly higher than that of the control group. No significant differences in adverse effects were observed between the two groups. After therapy, the survival quality score of the observation group was lower than that of the control group, but it became significantly higher than that of the control group after 3 months.

  Conclusion  Transcatheter hepatic arterial chemoembolization combined with radiotherapy could improve the curative effect, prolong the survival time, improve the 1-year survival rate, and improve the survival quality score of primary hepatic carcinoma patients with portal vein tumor thrombus.