scholarly journals A systematic review and network meta-analysis of second-line therapy in hepatocellular carcinoma

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Delos Santos ◽  
S. Udayakumar ◽  
A. Nguyen ◽  
Y.J. Ko ◽  
S. Berry ◽  
...  

Background In patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (hcc) following sorafenib failure, it is unclear which treatment is most efficacious, as treatments in the second-line setting have not been directly compared and no standard therapy exists. This systematic review and network meta-analysis (nma) aimed to compare the clinical benefits and toxicities of these treatments. Methods A systematic review of randomized controlled trials (rcts) was conducted to identify phase iii rcts in advanced hcc following sorafenib failure. Baseline characteristics and outcomes of placebo were examined for het­erogeneity. Primary outcomes of interest were extracted for results, including overall survival (os), progression-free survival (pfs), objective response rate (orr), grade 3/4 toxicities, and subgroups. An nma was conducted to compare both drugs through the intermediate placebo. Comparisons were expressed as hazard ratios (hrs) for os and pfs, and as risk difference (rd) for orr and toxicities. Subgroup analyses for os and pfs were also performed. Results Two rcts were identified (1280 patients) and compared through an indirect network; celestial (cabozantinib vs. placebo) and resorce (regorafenib vs. placebo). Baseline characteristics of patients in both trials were similar. Both trials also had similar placebo outcomes. Cabozantinib, compared with regorafenib, showed similar os [hazard ratio (hr): 1.21; 95% confidence interval (ci): 0.90 to 1.62], pfs (hr: 1.02; 95% ci: 0.78 to 1.34) and orr (−3.0%; 95% ci: −7.6% to 1.7%). Both treatments showed similar toxicities, but there were marginally higher risks of grade 3/4 hand–foot syndrome (5%; 95% ci: 0.1% to 9.8%), diarrhea (4.8%; 95% ci: 1.1% to 8.5%), and anorexia (4.4%; 95% ci: 0.8% to 8.0%) for cabozantinib. Subgroup results for os and pfs were consistent with overall results. Conclusions Overall, this nma determined that cabozantinib and regorafenib have similar clinical benefits and toxicities for second-line hcc.

2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (3_suppl) ◽  
pp. 293-293
Author(s):  
Robin Park ◽  
Laércio Lopes da Silva ◽  
Voravech Nissaisorakarn ◽  
Ivy Riano ◽  
Anwaar Saeed

293 Background: Several systemic agents are approved for use in the first line and second line treatment settings for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (aHCC). However, choosing among available options in both first and second line settings remain difficult due to the paucity of head-to-head comparative trials. Therefore, we have conducted a systematic review and network meta-analysis for the indirect comparison of the systemic agents in the first line and second line settings. Methods: Published clinical trials that have evaluated systemic agents in the first line and second line settings in advanced HCC from inception to April 2020 were identified by searching PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Databases and abstracts presented in the main annual ASCO and ESMO conferences from 2017 to 2020. Studies published in English providing clinical outcomes data including overall survival (OS), progression free survival (PFS) and objective response rate (ORR) were included in the analysis. The primary outcomes of interest were pooled hazard ratios (HR) of OS and OR of ORR in first line studies and HR of PFS and OR of ORR for second line studies. OS for second line agents were synthesized in a qualitative analysis. Results: Overall, 8,335 patients (13 studies) and 4,612 patients (11 studies) were analyzed in phase II/III trials for first line and second line settings respectively. In the first line setting, atezolizumab plus bevacizumab and lenvatinib were ranked highest as the regimens associated with the greatest OS (A+B, HR 0.58, 95% CI, 0.42-0.80; P-score 0.993) and ORR (lenva, OR 3.34, 95% CI, 2.17-5.14; P-score 0.080) respectively. In the second line setting, cabozantinib showed the highest probability of greatest PFS benefit (HR 0.44, 95% CI, 0.29-0.66; P-score 0.854) as well as the highest probability of greatest ORR benefit (cabo, OR 9.40, 95% CI, 1.25-70.83, P-score, 0.266). Conclusions: In the first line setting, atezolizumab plus bevacizumab may be the superior regimen whereas lenvatinib may be considered as the initial option when robust tumor responses are preferred. In the second line setting, cabozantinib may be the preferred option including in cases when robust tumor responses are favored.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 175628482093248
Author(s):  
Dongxu Wang ◽  
Xu Yang ◽  
Jianzhen Lin ◽  
Yi Bai ◽  
Junyu Long ◽  
...  

Background: The prospect for targeted therapies in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has dramatically changed since several recent clinical trials have yielded promising results. The number of second-line therapies is increasing, though the consequent challenge is to consider differences between these interventions. This is a comparative investigation of presently approved second-line drugs for HCC based on findings from phase III randomized controlled trials. Methods: Data related to treatment efficacy including overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS) and objective response rate (ORR) were extracted and compared using a Bayesian approach. Adverse events (AEs) and the rate of discontinuation due to AEs were assessed and compared with provide a more complete understanding. OS and PFS in patients with alpha fetoprotein (AFP) values greater than 400 were compared and ranked as a subgroup. Results: A total of five trials involving 2571 patients were included. The comparison suggests that regorafenib and cabozantinib significantly prolong OS compared with placebo. The rate of AEs and treatment discontinuation did not significantly differ, although the types of AEs varied substantially. Subgroup analysis did not highlight a significant OS difference between regorafenib [hazard ratio (HR) 0.68; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.50–0.92], cabozantinib (HR 0.71; CI 0.54–0.94) and ramucirumab (HR 0.69; CI 0.57–0.84). Conclusion: Among the four second-line HCC therapies compared, regorafenib and cabozantinib appear to be better choices in terms of OS. Cabozantinib, regorafenib and ramucirumab have similar levels of efficacy for those with AFP >400, although ramucirumab has fewer side effects. No significant difference was observed in AEs, but some AEs related to each of these interventions should be given further consideration.


2015 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 728-734 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tadaaki Arizumi ◽  
Kazuomi Ueshima ◽  
Mina Iwanishi ◽  
Hirokazu Chishina ◽  
Masashi Kono ◽  
...  

Objectives: Sorafenib has become a standard therapy for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma following the demonstration of significant increase in progression-free survival as well as overall survival (OS) in the 2-phase III trials. We examined efficacy and adverse events (AEs) in patients treated with sorafenib over a 6-year period since approval in Japan. Methods: Two hundred and forty-one patients treated with sorafenib at the Kinki University Hospital were retrospectively analyzed clinically for the factors related to survival periods, tumor response evaluated by the Response Evaluation Criteria In Cancer of the Liver (RECICL) and AEs. Results: OS was 14.3 months. According to the RECICL, the objective response and disease control rates were 18.6% (43 of 241) and 61.1% (137 of 241), respectively. AEs were seen in 77.3% (187 of 241), with Grade 3 or higher in 23.6% (57 of 241). The most frequent AE was hand-foot skin reaction in 109 patients (45.0%), and 28 patients (11.8%) showed Grade 3 or higher. Significant factors contributing to the OS were treatment duration (p = 0.0204), up-to-7 criteria (p = 0.0400), increase of Child-Pugh score (p = 0.0008) and tumor response determined by the RECICL (p = 0.0007). Conclusion: Based on the analysis, using many cases at a single center, we concluded that continuation of treatment with sorafenib for ≥90 days without decrease of liver function was critical if tumor response was determined as stable disease or higher.


Author(s):  
Neehar D Parikh ◽  
Alexander Marshall ◽  
Keith A Betts ◽  
Jinlin Song ◽  
Jing Zhao ◽  
...  

Aims: To compare the efficacy of nivolumab 1 mg/kg + ipilimumab 3 mg/kg with regorafenib 160 mg, cabozantinib 60 mg and nivolumab 3 mg/kg monotherapy for second-line treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. Materials & methods: Indirect comparison using network meta-analysis and propensity score weighting. Results: Nivolumab 1 mg/kg + ipilimumab 3 mg/kg had significantly higher objective response rate (median 31.2% [95% credible interval: 19.6–44.5%]) than cabozantinib (4.2% [2.0–6.5%]) and regorafenib (4.8% [1.1–8.3%]), and significantly longer overall survival (cabozantinib: hazard ratio: 0.46 [95% credible interval: 0.27–0.79]; regorafenib: 0.56 [0.32–0.97]). Nivolumab 1 mg/kg + ipilimumab 3 mg/kg had significantly better objective response rate (difference 21.0% [4.5–37.5%]) and overall survival (hazard ratio: 0.58 [0.35–0.96]) than nivolumab monotherapy. Conclusion: Nivolumab 1 mg/kg + ipilimumab 3 mg/kg had a superior efficacy versus cabozantinib 60 mg, regorafenib 160 mg and nivolumab 3 mg/kg monotherapy as second-line therapy for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma.


2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e16192-e16192
Author(s):  
Qicong Mai ◽  
Song Chen ◽  
Feng Shi ◽  
Zhiqiang Mo ◽  
Jian He ◽  
...  

e16192 Background: Lenvatinib has been approved as a first-line systemic for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after the randomized phase III REFLECT trial. The aim of this study was to assess the lenvatinib-base treatment patterns and safety in real-world clinical settings in China. Methods: In this multicenter retrospective study, A total of 278 patients with unresectable HCC were treated with lenvatinib-base treatment between October 2018 and November 2020 were analyzed. Therapeutic effect was determined using the RECIST 1.1 and mRECIST criteria. Progression free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS) and treatment-related adverse events (TRAE) were also evaluated. Results: Of 278 unresectable HCC patients (median age: 56.1±11.9 years), 220 (79.1%) had cirrhosis caused by HBV infection. 215 (77.3%) and 63 (22.7%) patients were classified as Child-pugh A and B class, respectively. 233 (83.8%) and 45 (16.2%) patients received lenvatinib in first-line and second-line systemic therapies, respectively. 223 (80.2%) patients were treated with lenvatinib plus arterially directed therapy (TACE or HAIC of FOLFOX) and 55 (19.8%) were treated with lenvatinib alone. The objective response rate were 34.9% (RECIST) and 47.5% (mRECIST), while the disease control rate were 75.5%. With a median follow-up period of 12.8 months, the median PFS and OS were 7.8 months (95% CI 7.1–8.4) and 17.2 months (95% CI 14.9–19.6), respectively. Results from the multivariate analysis showed that the significant independent favorable prognosis factors were tumor burden< 50% (P=0.033), Child–Pugh A class (P<0.01), AFP level <200ng/mL (P=0.045), the combination with lenvatinib and arterially directed therapy (P<0.01). TRAE occurred in 219 of 278 patients (78.8%), most common TRAE were hypertension (n=118; 42.4%) and hand-foot skin reaction (n=91; 32.7%). The most common grade 3–4 TARE were hypertension (n=23; 8.3%), decreased appetite (n=18; 6.5%), AST elevation (n=14; 5%), and diarrhea (n=14; 5%) across all study patients. Conclusions: In this multicenter real-world study, lenvatinib-base treatment could be accomplished with well tolerated and response for unresectable HCC patients. Combination with arterially directed therapy could likely improve the overall survival.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jingjun Huang ◽  
Yongjian Guo ◽  
Wensou Huang ◽  
Zining Xu ◽  
Liteng Lin ◽  
...  

Abstract Purpose: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of regorafenib combined with immune checkpoint inhibitor sintilimab (rego-sintilimab) as second-line treatment for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients who failed prior sorafenib or lenvatinib.Methods: This retrospective study evaluated consecutive patients with advanced HCC who received rego-sintilimab (rego-sintilimab group) or regorafenib alone (regorafenib group) as second-line treatment from January 2019 to December 2020. Adverse events, objective response rate (ORR), progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) were compared between the two groups. Results: Eighty-three patients were included: 48 received rego-sintilimab and 35 received regorafenib. Rego-sintilimab group had higher ORR (33.3% vs 14.3%, P =.049), longer PFS (median, 5.1 vs 3.0 months; P =.001), and better OS (median, 13.3 vs 9.1 months; P =.001) than regorafenib group. Regorafenib alone, Child-Pugh B, and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) >3.5 were independent prognostic factors for poor OS in uni- and multi-variable analyses. Subgroup analyses showed that, in patients with Child-Pugh A (16.4 vs 11.5 months; P =.005), Child-Pugh B (8.8 vs 6.4 months; P =.032), or NLR ≤3.5 (16.3 vs 11.5 months; P =.012), rego-sintilimab group had significantly better median OS than regorafenib group, whereas median OS was not significantly different between the two groups in patients with NLR >3.5 (8.4 vs 7.0 months; P =.288). The incidences of grade 3/4 adverse events were similar between the two groups (39.4% vs 34.1%; P =.445).Conclusion: Rego-sintilimab was tolerable and led to better OS than regorafenib as second-line treatment for advanced HCC patients, especially in those with NLR ≤3.5.


2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (6) ◽  
pp. 611-617 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazuomi Ueshima ◽  
Naoshi Nishida ◽  
Masatoshi Kudo

Objectives: Previously, no therapeutic agent has been known to improve the overall survival compared with placebo in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), who have progressed after sorafenib. In this patient population, regorafenib was first demonstrated to confer a survival benefit in the RESORCE trial, and subsequently it was approved as a second-line treatment for patients with advanced HCC. An open-label expanded access program (EAP) of regorafenib was implemented for compassionate use. We investigated the efficacy and safety of regorafenib based on our experience of the RESORCE trial and the EAP. Methods: Data from 5 patients from the RESORCE trial and 6 from the EAP were analyzed retrospectively. All patients had tolerated prior sorafenib and were progressing during sorafenib treatment. Results: The median progression-free survival was 9.2 months (95% CI 2.3-16.1). One patient achieved a partial response and 7 achieved stable disease. The objective response rate was 9.1%, and the disease control rate was 72.7%. No treatment-associated mortalities were observed. Grade 3 hypophosphatemia was observed in 2 patients, grade 2 anorexia was observed in 5 patients, and grade 3 neutropenia was observed in 2 patients. Grade 2 and grade 3 thrombocytopenia were observed in 2 and 3 patients, respectively. All treatment-related adverse events were improved by reduction or interruption of regorafenib. Five patients showed decreased serum albumin levels. Conclusion: Sorafenib and regorafenib sequential therapy presents a safe and effective treatment option for patients with advanced HCC.


Liver Cancer ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Masatoshi Kudo ◽  
Kenta Motomura ◽  
Yoshiyuki Wada ◽  
Yoshitaka Inaba ◽  
Yasunari Sakamoto ◽  
...  

<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> Combining an immune checkpoint inhibitor with a targeted antiangiogenic agent may leverage complementary mechanisms of action for the treatment of advanced/metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma (aHCC). Avelumab is a human anti-PD-L1 IgG1 antibody with clinical activity in various tumor types; axitinib is a selective tyrosine kinase inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor receptors 1, 2, and 3. We report the final analysis from VEGF Liver 100 (NCT03289533), a phase 1b study evaluating safety and efficacy of avelumab plus axitinib in treatment-naive patients with aHCC. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> Eligible patients had confirmed aHCC, no prior systemic therapy, ≥1 measurable lesion, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status ≤1, and Child-Pugh class A disease. Patients received avelumab 10 mg/kg intravenously every 2 weeks plus axitinib 5 mg orally twice daily until progression, unacceptable toxicity, or withdrawal. Endpoints included safety and investigator-assessed objective response per Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) 1.1 and modified RECIST (mRECIST) for HCC. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Twenty-two Japanese patients were enrolled and treated with avelumab plus axitinib. The minimum follow-up was 18 months as of October 25, 2019 (data cutoff). Grade 3 treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) occurred in 16 patients (72.7%); the most common (≥3 patients) were hypertension (<i>n</i> = 11 [50.0%]), palmar-plantar erythrodysesthesia syndrome (<i>n</i> = 5 [22.7%]), and decreased appetite (<i>n</i> = 3 [13.6%]). No grade 4 TRAEs or treatment-related deaths occurred. Ten patients (45.5%) had an immune-related AE (irAE) of any grade; 3 patients (13.6%) had an infusion-related reaction (IRR) of any grade, and no grade ≥3 irAE and IRR were observed. The objective response rate was 13.6% (95% CI: 2.9–34.9%) per RECIST 1.1 and 31.8% (95% CI: 13.9–54.9%) per mRECIST for HCC. <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> Treatment with avelumab plus axitinib was associated with a manageable toxicity profile and showed antitumor activity in patients with aHCC.


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