# TACE (transarterial chemoembolisation)

Source: https://onco.cc/terms/tace-term/  
OnCo record `tace-term` (Term). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Threading a catheter into the artery feeding a liver tumour and injecting chemotherapy plus particles that block the blood supply, starving and poisoning it at once.

## Summary

The standard treatment for intermediate-stage (BCLC B) hepatocellular carcinoma that cannot be resected, ablated or transplanted, exploiting the fact that tumours draw blood from the hepatic artery while normal liver relies on the portal vein. Drug-eluting beads deliver doxorubicin more slowly than conventional lipiodol emulsions. Combining TACE with immunotherapy and anti-VEGF drugs (EMERALD-1, LEAP-012) improves progression-free survival, and TACE is also used to bridge patients to liver transplantation.

## Fields

- Kind: Term
- Last checked: 2026-09-09
- Also known as: TACE; chemoembolisation; chemoembolization; transarterial; DEB-TACE; bland embolisation

## Sources

- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcatheter_arterial_chemoembolization
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcatheter_arterial_chemoembolization

## Connected records

- technologies: [Transarterial chemoembolisation (TACE)](https://onco.cc/technologies/tace/)
- terms: [BCLC staging](https://onco.cc/terms/bclc-staging/), [Liver-directed therapy (TACE, TARE, HAI, ablation)](https://onco.cc/terms/liver-directed-therapy/), [TARE / SIRT (radioembolisation with yttrium-90)](https://onco.cc/terms/tare/)
- cancers: [Hepatocellular carcinoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/hcc/), [Intermediate hepatocellular carcinoma (BCLC B)](https://onco.cc/cancers/hcc-intermediate/), [Neuroendocrine tumours](https://onco.cc/cancers/neuroendocrine/)
- fronts: [Surgery & Interventional](https://onco.cc/fronts/surgery/)
- drugs: [Lenvatinib](https://onco.cc/drugs/lenvatinib/)
- trials: [EMERALD-1](https://onco.cc/trials/emerald-1/)

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