ICIs Analyzed as First-Line Therapies for HCC

A systematic review and network meta-analysis showed that treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) as first-line therapies can offer better survival with manageable adverse events among patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (uHCC), researchers reported in Discover Oncology.

The review drew from studies published until August 11, 2022 from PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Clinical trials.gov, and included analysis of reported objective response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR), overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), and treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs).

“Of the 8579 studies retrieved, 24 met the inclusion criteria,” the authors stated. Among patients with unresectable HCC receiving first-line treatment with ICIs-based therapy, “the pooled result of median PFS and median OS was 5.76 months (95% CI 4.82-6.69) and 16.35 months (95% CI 15.19-17.51). The ORR and DCR were 25.1% (95% CI 20.8-29.5%) and 75.2% (95% CI 70.3-80.2%) measured by RECIST v1.1 or 40.2% (95% CI 31.7-48.6%) with 75.2% (95% CI 68.3-82.1%) measured by mRECIST v1.1.”

Therapy with ICIs significantly prolonged OS, the researchers found; the pooled incidence of TRAEs of any garde was 82.3% (95% CI 73.9-90.7%).

“This study demonstrated that first-line ICIs-based therapies could provide survival benefits for patients with unresectable HCC, with manageable TRAEs. The potential of combination treatment to become the new treatment trend in clinical practice is promising,” the authors concluded.

—Rebecca Mashaw

Reference:

Lei Q, Yan X, Zou H, et al. Efficacy and safety of monotherapy and combination therapy of immune checkpoint inhibitors as first-line treatment for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma: a systematic review, meta-analysis and network meta-analysis. Discov Oncol. 2022; 28;13(1):95.