To observe the effects of Modified Xiayuxue Decoction（下瘀血汤加减）assisted with percutaneous hepatic arterial chemoembolization（TACE）on levels of serum matrix metalloproteinase 1（MMP-1）and matrix metalloproteinase9（MMP-9）and liver function in patients with primary liver cancer.

This study selected 74 primary hepatocellular carcinoma patients who were treated in the oncology department from January 2019 to December 2022. All patients were diagnosed with liver heat and blood stasis syndrome. They were randomly divided into a control group（37 patients completed the study）and an observation group（37 patients completed the study）using simple randomization. All 74 patients received TACE treatment. The control group was given Compound Glycyrrhizin Tablets after surgery，while the observation group was given Modified Xiayuxue Decoction after surgery，continuously administered for 12 weeks. The therapeutic effects，overall Karnofsky performance status and safety of the two groups were statistically analyzed. The levels of MMP-1，MMP-9，alpha fetoprotein（AFP），AFP-L3，tumor tissue infiltration，liver function，serum albumin（ALB）and T lymphocyte subgroups were detected to evaluate the traditional Chinese medicine syndrome scores of the two groups.

The effective rate of the observation group was 64.86%（24/37），which was higher than that（40.54%，15/37）of the control group with statistical difference（P<0.05）. There was no statistical difference（P>0.05）in MMP-1，MMP-9，AFP，liver function，AFP-L3 or ALB between the two groups before treatment. After 12 weeks of treatment，the levels of MMP-1，MMP-9，liver function，AFP and AFP-L3 were lower than those before treatment and ALB was higher than that before treatment in both groups（P<0.05）. The levels of MMP-1，MMP-9，AFP and AFP-L3 were lower and ALB was higher in the observation group than those in the control group after 12 weeks of treatment（P<0.05）. There was no statistical difference（P>0.05）in tumor tissue infiltration between the two groups before treatment. After 12 weeks of treatment，the values of blood volume（BV）and blood flow（BF）were lower than those before treatment and mean transit time（MTT）was higher than that before treatment in both groups（P<0.05）. The tumor tissue infiltration in the observation group was compared with that in the control group after 12 weeks of treatment，with no statistical difference（P>0.05）. There was no statistical difference（P>0.05）in T lymphocyte subgroups between the two groups before treatment. After 12 weeks of treatment in the observation group，the levels of CD3^＋，CD4^＋and CD4^＋/CD8^＋were higher than those before treatment and CD8^＋was lower than that before treatment（P<0.05）. There was no statistical difference（P>0.05）in T lymphocyte subgroups before and after treatment in the control group. The levels of CD3^＋，CD4^＋and CD4^＋/CD8^＋were higher and CD8^＋was lower in the observation group than those in the control group after 12 weeks of treatment（P<0.05）. The overall Karnofsky score was higher in the observation group than that in the control group，and the total incidence of adverse reactions was not statistically different（P>0.05）when compared with those in the control group. There was no statistical difference（P>0.05）in the scores of 3 main symptoms and 7 collateral symptoms between the two groups before treatment. The scores of 3 main symptoms and 7 collateral symptoms were lower after 12 weeks of treatment than those before treatment in both groups（P<0.05）. The scores of 3 main symptoms and 7 collateral symptoms after 12 weeks of treatment were lower in the observation group than those in the control group（P<0.05）.

In the treatment of liver blood stasis syndrome with TACE，Modified Xiayuxue Decoction can improve liver function，do not affect blood perfusion of tumor tissue，inhibit the levels of MMP-1，MMP-9，AFPand AFP-L3，and alleviate symptoms.