Objective To compare therapeutic effects of associating liver partition and portal vein ligation for staged hepatectomy (ALPPS) and transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) on patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. Methods Thirty-five patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma admitted in the Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery of Shiyan Taihe Hospital Affiliated to Hubei University of Medicine from August 1, 2014 to August 1, 2015 were randomly divided into ALPPS group and TACE group, in which 17 cases treated by the ALPPS and 18 cases treated by the TACE. The survival, changes of liver function and life quality, postoperative complications and mortality were compared in these two groups. The follow-up was performed by the telephone and the outpatient. Results ① The baselines such as the age, gender, diameter of tumor, complications had no significant differences in these two groups (P>0.05). ② The changes of liver function and life quality after operation in the ALPPS group were significantly better than those in the TACE group (P<0.05). ③ The complications after operation were observed in 5 cases (there were 2 cases of bile leakage, 1 case of intraabdominal bleeding, 1 case of peritoneal effusion, and 1 case of pulmonary infection) in the ALPPS group, which in 13 cases (there were 6 cases of nausea and vomiting, 4 cases of liver function damage, 2 cases of granulocytopenia, 1 case of fever) in the TACE group. The rate of the overall complications in the ALPPS group was significantly lower than that in the TACE group (5/17versus 13/18, P=0.018). ④ The overall survival in the the ALPPS group was significantly better than that in the TACE group (P=0.024). During follow-up period, the deaths happened in 3 cases duo to hepatocellular carcinoma and 1 case duo to traffic accident, 1 case was lost on month 8, 12 cases were still alive in the ALPPS group; the deaths happened in 10 cases duo to hepatocellular carcinoma, 1 case duo to coronary disease, and 1 case duo to cerebral infarction, 6 cases were still alive in the TACE group. Conclusion Preliminary results of limited cases in this study show that ALPPS has a better effect than TACE on patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma.
ObjectiveTo review the present situation of immune checkpoint inhibitors in treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and discuss the advance of combined immunotherapy.MethodsThe relevant literatures on researches of immune checkpoint inhibitors in the treatment of advanced HCC were retrieved to make an review.ResultsImmunotherapy intervention had been becoming a novel and promising therapeutic approach for HCC, which could suppress the progression of aggressive tumor and could inhibit tumor recurrence and metastasis shown in some pre-clinical trials. Other studies had found that the combined strategy of specific immunotherapy and conventional therapies could significantly improve the clinical outcomes of HCC patients.ConclusionCombined immunotherapy can significantly improve the clinical outcomes of HCC and benefit more patients with advanced HCC.
ObjectiveTo explore the safety and effectiveness of transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) combined with lenvatinib and programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1) antibody in the conversion resection for intermediate and advanced unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and to provide new treatment strategies for the treatment of intermediate and advanced unresectable HCC. MethodThirty-eight intermediate and advanced unresectable HCC patients treated at West China Hospital of Sichuan University from October 2020 to June 2021 were prospectively included in our study, all patients treated with TACE + lenvatinib + PD-1 antibody, and the clinical data of these 38 patients were summarized. ResultsThe last evaluation time for the 38 patients was October 20, 2021. According to the mRECIST standard for tumor efficacy evaluation, the objective response rate was 84.2% (32/38), the disease control rate was 94.7% (36/38); the conversion success rate based on imaging was 55.3% (21/38), the actual conversion resection rate was 52.6% (20/38). The incidence of adverse events was 100%, of which 22 patients had grade 3 adverse events, and there was no ≥ grade 4 adverse events. All patients were followed up, the follow-up time was 16–52 weeks, and the median follow-up time was 33.5 weeks. During the follow-up period, only two patients had tumor progression, of which one patient died due to disease progression, and there was no postoperative recurrence. ConclusionsLenvatinib combined with TACE and PD-1 antibody is safe for the treatment of intermediate and advanced unresectable HCC. Triple therapy can achieve satisfactory conversion resection rate of intermediate and advanced unresectable HCC, which will provide a new treatment strategy for it.
Objective To summarize the effect of lenvatinib + transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) + programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1) antibody in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma with main portal vein tumor thrombus and cavernous transformation. Methods In this study, we reported the clinical data of four patients with hepatocellular carcinoma with main portal vein tumor thrombus and cavernous transformation who received conversion therapy with lenvatinib combined with TACE and PD-1 antibody in West China Hospital. Results Among the four patients, two patients achieved complete response and two achieved partial response; tumor markers were significantly decreased after combination treatment. However, all four patients failed to undergo hepatectomy. ConclusionsLenvatinib + TACE + PD-1 antibody is effective for hepatocellular carcinoma with main portal vein tumor thrombus and cavernous transformation. However, there are still many problems worthy of further discussion.
ObjectiveTo investigate the effects of lenvatinib combined with transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) and programmed death protein-1 (PD-1) monoclonal antibody (Abbreviated as LEN-TAP regimen) on residual liver volume and surgical safety in intermediate and advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). MethodsThe clinicopathologic data of patients with intermediate and advanced HCC were collected retrospectively, who underwent the LEN-TAP conversion therapy and surgical resection in the Department of Liver Surgery, West China Hospital, Sichuan University from October 2020 to December 2021. The total liver volume, tumor volume, and residual liver volume of the patients before and after conversion therapy were analyzed. ResultsA total of 48 patients were included, 26 of whom had partial remission and 22 had stable disease, the objective response rate was 54.2% (26/48) according to the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumours 1.1 after conversion therapy. Before and after conversion therapy, the total liver volumes including tumor were (1 607.15±712.22) mL and (1 558.03±573.89) mL [mean difference (MD) and 95% confidence interval (CI)=–57.42(–134.30, 19.46), t=–1.503, P=0.140], the total liver volumes excluding tumor tissue were (1 095.28±227.60) mL and (1 260.31±270.71) mL [MD(95%CI)=165.03(128.13, 201.93), t=8.997, P<0.001], the tumor volumes were 260.25(107.75, 699.50) mL and 121.73 (33.00, 332.88) mL [MD(95%CI)=–222.45(–296.46, –148.44), Z=–5.641, P<0.001], and the residual liver volumes were (493.62±154.51) mL and (567.83±172.23) mL [MD(95%CI)=74.21(54.64, 93.79), t=7.627, P<0.001], respectively. The increase rates of tumor volume and residual liver volume after conversion therapy were (–53.34±33.05)% and (16.34±15.16)%, respectively. The conversional resections were successfully completed in all patients, with 13 (27.1%) cases experiencing postoperative complications and without occurrence of postoperative liver failure. ConclusionThe data analysis results of this study indicate that the LEN-TAP conversion therapy can shrink tumor volume and increase the residual liver volume for patients with intermediate and advanced HCC, which helps to improve the safety of conversion resection.