First-line Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor-Based Combinations in Unresectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Current Management and Future Challenges

Author(s):  
Alessandro Rizzo ◽  
Angela Dalia Ricci ◽  
Gennaro Gadaleta-Caldarola ◽  
Giovanni Brandi
2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e16194-e16194
Author(s):  
Osama Diab ◽  
Maloree Khan ◽  
Saqib Abbasi ◽  
Anwaar Saeed ◽  
Anup Kasi ◽  
...  

e16194 Background: Hepatocholangiocarcinoma (HCC-CC) is a rare form of cancer with a poor prognosis. Of all primary liver cancers, the incidence of HCC-CC ranges from 0.4 to 14.2%. HCC-CC is a mixed carcinoma with findings of both hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma. Immune checkpoint inhibitors are a potent first line treatment in hepatocellular carcinoma with multiple clinical trial showing effectiveness in cholangiocarcinoma. HCC-CC has limited proven treatment options as patients are generally excluded from clinical trials. In this study we reviewed outcomes of patients with HCC-CC who received immune checkpoint inhibitor in a single center. Methods: Records of patients who had a pathological confirmed HCC-CC by a subspecialized hepatic pathologist at the University of Kansas medical center were reviewed. We identified 6 patients with locally advanced unresectable or metastatic HCC-CC that received immune checkpoint inhibitor between February 2017 and January 2021. Baseline characteristics were obtained, as well as best response, line of therapy, and duration of response. Results: Of the six patients 4 (66%) received PD-1 inhibitor alone and 2 (34%) received combination therapy with CTLA-4 inhibitor for the treatment of HCC-CC. There were 3 (50%) females and 6 (100%) with prior hepatitis C infection. four (66%) patients had metastatic disease and 2 had locally unresectable advanced disease. Objective response rate was 83.3%. One patient achieved complete response and had a treatment holiday after receiving treatment for 2 years, and restarted immunotherapy upon relapse. Four patients had a partial response, of which two passed away after disease progression. One patient had stable disease on 2 different lines of immunotherapy then progressed. Of those who responded, one patient received immunotherapy, 3 (50%) received liver directed therapy and two received chemotherapy or Lenvatinib as first line treatment (Table). Conclusions: Immune checkpoint inhibitors demonstrate potential activity in patients with HCC-CC without unexpected side effect in this unmet need high-risk population. Larger studies are needed to confirm activity and efficacy in this setting.[Table: see text]


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. e001072
Author(s):  
Pei-Chang Lee ◽  
Yee Chao ◽  
Ming-Huang Chen ◽  
Keng-Hsin Lan ◽  
I-Cheng Lee ◽  
...  

BackgroundImmunotherapy with immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) is a promising treatment for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, whether ICIs would have the risk of hepatitis B virus (HBV) reactivation and the necessary of nucleos(t)ide analogs (NUCs) prophylaxis are still unclear. We aimed to investigate the role of NUCs prophylaxis in HBV-infected patients who underwent ICIs treatment.MethodsThe study was a retrospective prospective design to review and follow-up consecutive 62 patients with chronic hepatitis B or resolved HBV infection who had received ICIs treatment for the unresectable HCC. Of them, 60 patients with documented baseline serum HBV DNA value were classified into three categories according to the baseline HBV viral load and the status of antiviral therapy before ICI treatment. The clinical status, including tumor response, viral kinetics and liver function, was recorded and investigated.ResultsNo HBV reactivation occurred in the 35 patients with HBV DNA ≤100 IU/mL on NUCs therapy. Of the 19 patients with HBV DNA >100 IU/mL who started NUCs simultaneously with ICI treatment, none encountered HBV reactivation during the immunotherapy. Of the six HBV patients without NUCs treatment, three had a greater than 1 log decrease in HBV viral load, and one maintained his serum HBV DNA in undetectable status during ICI treatment. Eventually, one out of six experienced HBV reactivation after 9 weeks of ICI treatment.ConclusionNo patients on antiviral therapy developed HBV reactivation, and one out of six not receiving antiviral therapy had HBV reactivation. HBV viral load higher than 100 IU/mL is safe and not a contraindication for ICI treatment for HCC, if NUCs can be coadministrated.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (Suppl 3) ◽  
pp. A660-A660
Author(s):  
Petros Grivas ◽  
Phani Veeranki ◽  
Kevin Chiu ◽  
Vivek Pawar ◽  
Jane Chang ◽  
...  

BackgroundAvelumab, a PD-L1 immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI), was recently approved as first-line (1L) maintenance therapy for locally advanced/unresectable or metastatic urothelial carcinoma (aUC) after disease control with platinum-based chemotherapy.1 Given the evolving treatment landscape, the study aim was to gain real-world insights into clinical decision-making among oncologists for patients with aUC.MethodsIn March 2021, a cross-sectional web-based survey was administered to a sample of US oncologists treating patients with aUC. Oncologists' demographics, practice characteristics, and treatment patterns were obtained; descriptive statistics were used.ResultsThe study included 151 medical oncologists, who reported that 54% and 31% of their patients, on average, would be classified as cisplatin or carboplatin eligible for their 1L treatment, respectively. Approximately 78% of oncologists (n=118) considered using ICI maintenance in ≥40% of their patients following disease control with platinum chemotherapy and were categorized as the “high-consideration” group, for further exploratory analysis; the rest (22%) were in the low-consideration group (See table 1). Approximately, 31% and 27% of oncologists in the high- and low-consideration groups reported administering ICI maintenance with a 2–3-week gap after chemotherapy, while 45% and 46% reported administering it with a 4–6-week gap after chemotherapy, respectively.ConclusionsSurveyed oncologists reported that 85% of patients with aUC in US may be eligible for platinum-based chemotherapy. Further, 78% of the surveyed oncologists would consider 1L ICI maintenance therapy after disease control with platinum-based chemotherapy for over 40% of their patients. Future studies are warranted to evaluate real-world treatment patterns, barriers, and utilization of ICI maintenance therapy as the new 1L standard of care.AcknowledgementsThe authors would like to acknowledge all physicians at who participated and completed the survey for the study.ReferencePowles T, et al. N Engl J Med 2020;383(13):1218–1230.Ethics ApprovalThe study was reviewed and determined to be exempt by Advarra IRB.ConsentAll survey participated signed a consent form.Abstract 630 Table 1Oncologists characteristics and considerations for 1L ICI maintenance therapy


2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 4341-4345 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ravi B Parikh ◽  
Emily K Feld ◽  
Matthew D Galsky ◽  
Blythe JS Adamson ◽  
Aaron B Cohen ◽  
...  

Aim: Standard first-line treatment of advanced urothelial cell carcinoma involves cisplatin-based chemotherapy, with carboplatin or immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy (ICI) reserved for cisplatin-ineligible individuals. Methods: Using a large de-identified electronic health record-derived database of patients with advanced urothelial cell carcinoma in the USA, we examined trends in utilization of first-line systemic therapies in cisplatin-eligible patients from 1 January 2015 to 31 March 2018. Results: Among 1181 cisplatin-eligible patients, the quarterly proportion who received first-line ICI increased from 1 to 42% (ptrend <0.001), while the proportion who received cisplatin-based chemotherapy decreased from 53 to 33% (ptrend = 0.018). Patients receiving ICI were older than those receiving cisplatin (median age: 75 vs 68). Conclusion: Our analysis suggests rising off-label ICI use in cisplatin-eligible individuals, potentially because of ICI’s favorable toxicity profile.


2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. i14-i15
Author(s):  
Thatcher Heumann ◽  
Rebecca Ye ◽  
Peter Wu ◽  
Akram Habibi ◽  
Alexandra Sansosti ◽  
...  

Abstract BACKGROUND: Of solid tumors, melanoma has the highest propensity for CNS spread with historic median survivals of 5–8 months following brain metastasis diagnosis. We evaluated the impact of systemic BRAF targeted and immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapies on survival outcomes in patients receiving stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) for melanoma brain metastases (MBM) and assessed patient treatment burden associated with prolonged survival. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the demographics, disease characteristics, therapeutic regimens, overall survival, and first-year cumulative incidence of comorbid disease for patients with de novo MBM treated between 2013 and 2017 at a major melanoma referral center. RESULTS: Among 123 newly diagnosed MBM patients: 65% were male, 24% were 50 years old or less, 50% were BRAF mutated, 63% had multiple intracranial lesions at diagnosis. Locally, 73% received SRS as first-line treatment. Systemically, 73% received ICI, 46% received BRAF targeted therapy, and 12% received neither. With a median follow up of 11 months (mo), total cohort median OS was 13.2 mo. Median OS for first-line SRS combined with ICI and BRAF targeted therapy was 31.0 mo (47% 3-year OS), 17.5 mo (31% 3-year OS) with ICI monotherapy, and 6.1 mo (22% 3-yr OS) alone. SRS and BRAF targeted therapy were associated with improved OS. At one-year follow-up, comorbid conditions with the greatest cumulative incidence were fatigue, nausea, intracranial hemorrhage, deep vein thrombosis, major depressive disorder, and pneumonia. Patients averaged one inpatient visit every 4.5 mo (1 week average length of stay), and 2 advanced imaging studies (MR/CT/PET-CT) per month following MBM diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: In one of the largest reported MBM series, survival has improved markedly for patients receiving first-line SRS combined with targeted and immunotherapies. Simultaneously, longer life expectancy comes with increasing incidences of comorbid conditions reflecting an evolving complexity of and need for coordination of care for patients with MBM.


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