Ponvilawan Ben, Roth Marc T
Department of Internal Medicine, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine, Kansas City, MO, USA.
Department of Hematology/Oncology, St. Luke's Cancer Institute, 4401 Wornall Road, Kansas City, MO, 64111, USA.
Curr Treat Options Oncol. 2023 Nov;24(11):1580-1597. doi: 10.1007/s11864-023-01135-7. Epub 2023 Oct 16.
Multiple treatment options are now approved for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). An immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI)-containing regimen should be highly considered as the first-line treatment when there is no contraindication, especially in those with hepatitis virus-related HCC, due to proven superior overall survival (OS) compared to sorafenib. Atezolizumab plus bevacizumab and durvalumab plus tremelimumab remain the treatment of choice among all ICI-containing regimens, unless contraindications to either of the medications exist. Although sorafenib is still the only medication currently approved for select patients with Child-Pugh B (CP) HCC in the first-line setting, atezolizumab plus bevacizumab is being studied in this patient population. Moreover, patients with post-liver transplantation recurrence may benefit from tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), while more studies are still needed to determine the safety of ICIs in this setting. Interestingly, multiple potential biomarkers, including tumor mutational burden (TMB), microsatellite instability (MSI) status, and PD-L1 expression level, have inconsistently predicted response to ICIs in patients with HCC. Limited evidence is available to guide treatment choice in later-line settings after progressing on ICIs, and decisions should be based on the safety profile of the treatment regimen and patient preference. Multiple trials are ongoing to elucidate the optimal treatment sequence. Of note, we believe that TKIs (e.g., cabozantinib, regorafenib, lenvatinib, and sorafenib) could be more beneficial in later-line settings to broaden inhibition of other pathways apart from vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). When conventional treatment options are exhausted, tissue biopsy may be helpful to reveal rare targetable mutations, such as RET gene fusions.
目前,多种治疗方案已被批准用于不可切除的肝细胞癌(HCC)。当没有禁忌证时,应高度考虑含免疫检查点抑制剂(ICI)的方案作为一线治疗,特别是对于那些与肝炎病毒相关的HCC患者,因为与索拉非尼相比,已证实其总生存期(OS)更优。阿替利珠单抗联合贝伐单抗以及度伐利尤单抗联合曲美木单抗仍是所有含ICI方案中的首选治疗,除非存在对任何一种药物的禁忌证。尽管索拉非尼仍是目前唯一被批准用于一线治疗特定Child-Pugh B(CP)级HCC患者的药物,但阿替利珠单抗联合贝伐单抗正在该患者群体中进行研究。此外,肝移植后复发的患者可能从酪氨酸激酶抑制剂(TKIs)中获益,而在这种情况下仍需要更多研究来确定ICI的安全性。有趣的是,多种潜在生物标志物,包括肿瘤突变负荷(TMB)、微卫星不稳定性(MSI)状态和PD-L1表达水平,对HCC患者对ICI的反应预测并不一致。在ICI治疗进展后的后线治疗中,指导治疗选择的证据有限,决策应基于治疗方案的安全性和患者偏好。多项试验正在进行以阐明最佳治疗顺序。值得注意的是,我们认为TKIs(如卡博替尼、瑞戈非尼、仑伐替尼和索拉非尼)在后期治疗中可能更有益,以扩大对除血管内皮生长因子(VEGF)之外的其他途径的抑制作用。当常规治疗方案用尽时,组织活检可能有助于揭示罕见的可靶向突变,如RET基因融合。
Curr Treat Options Oncol. 2023-11
Jpn J Clin Oncol. 2021-8-30
World J Gastroenterol. 2023-3-14
J Hepatocell Carcinoma. 2024-6-4
Nat Rev Rheumatol. 2022-11