The adherence to the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases 2018 guidelines in the management of hepatocellular carcinoma and its impact on survival.

Introduction: In two Korean and Italian studies, the adherence rate (AR) to ASSLD 2005 guidelines in the management of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) was 60%. In a US study, the AR to American Association for the Study of Liver Disease (AASLD) 2005 guidelines was 73.3%, 26.8%, 25.3%, and 58.8% for patients with Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) Stage A, B, C, and D, respectively, and nonadherence to guidelines was associated with longer overall survival (OS) in patients with BCLC Stage D. Here, we explored the AR to AASLD 2018 guidelines and its impact on OS. Methods: Between 2017 and 2019, 148 unique treatment-naïve patients with HCC were identified. Patients were staged according to the BCLC staging system and their AR to AASLD 2018 guidelines was noted. OS was estimated using Kaplan-Meier method. Survivals among patients from different groups was compared using Log-rank test. Results: The overall AR to AASLD 2018 guidelines was 83%. The AR for BCLC Stages 0, A, B, C, and D were 100%, 97%, 77%, 77%, and 38%, respectively. In patients with BCLC Stage D, the OS of patients treated with modalities adherent versus nonadherent to AASLD 2018 guidelines was 0.03 vs. 5.2 months (P = 0.0005). Otherwise, adherence versus nonadherence to AASLD 2018 guidelines showed no statistically significant differences in OS for patients with BCLC Stages 0, A, B, and C. Conclusion: The overall AR to AASLD 2018 guidelines was 83%. Nonadherence to AASLD 2018 guidelines in patients with BCLC Stage D translated into better OS.

Clinical and Hematological Predictors of High-Grade Immune-Related Adverse Events Associated With Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors.

BACKGROUND: Life-threatening immune-related adverse events (irAEs) that require hospital admission are not uncommon in patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). The clinical and hematological parameters are attractive biomarkers as potential predictors of irAE. METHODS: This is a retrospective study of patients with melanoma and lung cancer treated with ICIs between 2015 and 2019 at the University of South Alabama Mitchell Cancer Institute. Fisher's exact test, Pearson Chi-squared test, log-rank test, and Cox proportional hazard model were used to evaluate clinical and hematological parameters as possible predictors of irAE. RESULTS: The cohort consisted of 160 patients treated with at least two doses of ICI, of which 54 (33.8%) patients had melanoma and 106 (66.3%) had lung cancer. Incidence of irAE did not have any bearing on the overall survival (OS) or progression-free survival (PFS) of the cohort. The clinical factors associated with irAE were dual-agent therapy (ipilimumab/nivolumab combination) and high disease burden (≥ 2 metastatic sites). The irAE-group had a lower mean platelet-to-lymphocyte ration (PLR, 200 vs. 257, P = 0.04). Although not statistically significant at the level of 0.05, other factors such as type of cancer (lung cancer > melanoma (P = 0.06)), stage at treatment (stage IV > stage II and III disease (P = 0.06)), and higher absolute lymphocyte counts (P = 0.07) showed a considerable association with irAE and warrants further review with different patient data. CONCLUSIONS: Irrespective of ICI used to treat lung cancer and melanoma, patients with high disease burden and dual-agent ICI therapy were more prone to irAE. The only hematological parameter that may predict the incidence of irAE is low baseline PLR.