Abstract: Objective To investigate the effect of transcatheter arterial chemoembolization（TACE）treatment on the circulating tumor cell（CTC） number and the serum vascular endothelial growth fator（VEGF） concentration in patients with primary liver cancer（PLC）.
Methods Totally fifty patients with primary PLC were select from the First Affiliated Hospital of Baotou Medical College between 2011 and 2013.The CTC number and VEGF concentration on day 1 before TACE， as well as day 1， day 3 and day 30 after TACE were measured by immunomagnetic beadssparation techniques（IMBS） and enzymelinked immunosorbent assay（ELISA）. Results The positive rates of CTC on day 1 before TACE， as well as day 1， day 3 and day 30 after TACE were 84.0％， 66.0％， 58.0％ and 78.0％， respectively. The CTC numbers were 2.38±1.65， 1.24±1.06， 0.86±0.83， 2.10±1.63， respectively. The difference was statistically significant before and after TACE （P＜0.05）. The concentration of VEGF on day 1 before TACE， as well as on day 1， day 3 and day 30 after TACE were （304.98±33.94） pg／ml and （262.93±28.22） pg／ml，（258.40±27.55） pg／ml，（283.08±37.19） pg／ml. The difference was statistically significant before and after TACE （P＜0.05）. Conclusion The VEGF concentration and CTC number will reduce within 1-3 days after TACE in patients with PLC.