Systemic Therapy for Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Chinese Consensus-Based Interdisciplinary Expert Statements.

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common type of liver cancer and causes many cancer-related deaths worldwide; in China, it is the second most prevalent cause of cancer deaths. Most patients are diagnosed clinically with advanced stage disease. Summary: For more than a decade, sorafenib, a small-molecular-weight tyrosine kinase inhibitor (SMW-TKI) was the only molecular targeted drug available with a survival benefit for the treatment of advanced HCC. With the development of novel TKIs and immune checkpoint inhibitors for advanced HCC, the management of patients has been greatly improved. However, though angiogenic-based targeted therapy remains the backbone for the systemic treatment of HCC, to date, no Chinese guidelines for novel molecular targeted therapies to treat advanced HCC have been established. Our interdisciplinary panel on the treatment of advanced HCC comprising hepatologists, hepatobiliary surgeons, oncologists, radiologists, pathologists, orthopedic surgeons, traditional Chinese medicine physicians, and interventional radiologists has reviewed the literature in order to develop updated treatment regimens. Key Messages: Panel consensus statements for the appropriate use of new molecular -targeted drugs including doses, combination therapies, adverse reaction management as well as efficacy evaluation, and predictions for treatment of advanced HCC with evidence levels based on published data are presented, thereby providing an overview of molecular targeted therapies for healthcare professionals.

Expert consensus on thermal ablation therapy of pulmonary subsolid nodules (2021 Edition).

The Expert Consensus reviews current literatures and provides clinical practice guidelines for thermal ablation of pulmonary subsolid nodules or ground-glass nodule (GGN). The main contents include the following: (1) clinical evaluation of GGN; (2) procedures, indications, contraindications, outcomes evaluation, and related complications of thermal ablation for GGN; and (3) future development directions.

Efficacy and safety of raltitrexed-based transarterial chemoembolization for colorectal cancer liver metastases.

The liver is the most common site of colorectal cancer metastases. The present study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) with raltitrexed and oxaliplatin for colorectal liver metastases in a prospective, multicenter, single-arm trial conducted in 12 hospitals from different areas in China. A total of 90 patients with colorectal liver metastases were enrolled and treated by TACE with raltitrexed 4 mg and oxaliplatin 100 mg, followed by embolotherapy with 50 mg oxaliplatin and 5-20 ml lipiodol, administered every 28 days for four cycles. Patients were followed up every 3 months after the treatment and up to 12 months. The primary endpoint was time to progression. For the full analysis set (FAS), the median time to progression and overall survival were 9.1 and 17.8 months, respectively. The disease control rate in FAS was 71 (78.9%). Grade 3 or 4 adverse events were reported for 24 (26.7%) out of all 90 patients. Grade 3 thrombocytopenia, transglutaminase abnormality, and decreased neutrophil were observed in eight (8.9%), six (6.7%), and five (5.6%) patients, respectively. No unexpected adverse events or toxic deaths were observed. TACE with raltitrexed plus oxaliplatin is feasible, clinically beneficial, and well tolerated with low-grade toxicity for colorectal cancer patients with liver metastases.

Comparison of treatment safety and patient survival in elderly versus nonelderly patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma receiving sorafenib combined with transarterial chemoembolization: a propensity score matching study.

AIMS: This retrospective study was carried out to compare the outcomes between elderly (≥70 years of age) and nonelderly patients (<70 years of age) with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who received sorafenib combined with transarterial chemoembolization (TACE). METHODS: 88 patients with a confirmed diagnosis of advanced HCC were enrolled in this study. Of these, 24 elderly patients were matched with 48 nonelderly patients at a 1:2 ratio using propensity score matching to minimize selection bias. The related adverse events and survival benefits were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: Sorafenib combined with TACE was equally well tolerated in both age groups, and grade 3 or 4 adverse events were similarly observed in 54.2% of elderly and 50.0% of nonelderly patients (P = 0.739). There were no significant differences in survival time between the elderly and nonelderly patients (P = 0.876). Significant prognostic factors for overall survival as identified by multivariate analysis were the Child-Pugh score and portal vein invasion. CONCLUSIONS: Sorafenib combined with TACE may be well tolerated and effective in elderly patients with advanced HCC. Age alone is not a parameter for the treatment of advanced HCC patients.

Sorafenib combined with transarterial chemoembolization versus transarterial chemoembolization alone for advanced-stage hepatocellular carcinoma: a propensity score matching study.

AIMS: The purpose of the present study was to compare the efficacies of transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) combined with sorafenib versus TACE monotherapy for treating patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). METHODS: We enrolled 321 patients and selected 280 with advanced HCC (Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer stage C) who underwent TACE therapy between February 2009 and February 2013. TACE alone (monotherapy group) was administered to 198 patients (70.7%), and the remaining 82 (29.3%) underwent repeat combined TACE and sorafenib therapy (combined group). To minimize selection bias, these latter 82 patients were matched using propensity-score matching at a 1∶2 ratio with 164 patients who received TACE monotherapy. The primary endpoints were overall survival (OS) and related subgroup analysis. The secondary endpoints were time to progression (TTP) and treatment-related adverse events. RESULTS: Of the respective patients in the combined and monotherapy groups, 64.6% and 49.2% had vascular invasion, 87.8% and 91.1% had extrahepatic metastasis, and 54.3% and 47.1% had both. In the propensity-score-matched cohort, the OS survival of the combined group was significantly higher compared with the monotherapy group (7.0 months vs. 4.9 months, respectively, P = 0.003). The TTP was significantly longer in the combined group (2.6 months vs. 1.9 months, respectively, P = 0.001). Subgroup analysis showed that the outcomes of patients with advanced HCC without main portal vein invasion who were treated with combined therapy were significantly better compared with those who received monotherapy (P<0.05). Univariate and subsequent multivariate analyses revealed that the addition of sorafenib was an independent predictor of favorable OS and TTP (adjusted hazard ratios, 0.63 and 0.62, respectively; P<0.05 for both). CONCLUSION: Sorafenib plus TACE was more effective than TACE monotherapy for treating patients with advanced HCC without main portal vein invasion. Future trials with larger samples are required to validate these preliminary findings.