OBJECTIVE. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the impact of a unified CT angiog- raphy (CTA) system for the management of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
SUBJECTS AND METHODS. A total of 1,312 patients with HCC who had been diag- nosed and treated between 1990 and 2003 were studied. The clinical characteristics and sur�vival rate were compared between patients who underwent pretreatment evaluation of tumor progression by a unified CTA system and those who underwent evaluation by a conventional angiography system. In addition, the survival rates for 438 patients who underwent transcath-eter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) as initial treatment were compared between patients who were treated using a unified CTA system and those who were treated without the system.
RESULTS. Overall, the survival rate was higher in patients who underwent pretreatment examination using a unified CTA system than in those who underwent examination without it (p
CONCLUSION. The more accurate and detailed pretreatment evaluation of HCC pro�gression using a unified CTA system contributed to the improvement of survival of patients with HCC. In addition, it contributed to the improved efficacy of TACE with an increased survival rate.