scholarly journals Management of patients with intermediate stage hepatocellular carcinoma

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 175883592097084
Author(s):  
David Prince ◽  
Ken Liu ◽  
Weiqi Xu ◽  
Minjiang Chen ◽  
Jin-Yu Sun ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
Standard Of Care ◽  
Intermediate Stage ◽  
Tumor Burden ◽  
Current Standard ◽  
Current Management ◽  
Heterogenous Group ◽  
Patient Subgroups ◽  
Significant Health ◽  
Systemic Therapies

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) causes a significant health burden globally and its impact is expected to increase in the coming years. Intermediate stage HCC, as defined by the Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) system stage B, represents up to 30% of patients at diagnosis and encompasses a broad spectrum of tumor burden. Several attempts have been made to further subclassify this heterogenous group. The current standard of care recommended by BCLC for intermediate stage HCC patients is transarterial chemoembolization (TACE), with modest outcomes reported. While refinements have been made to TACE technique and patient selection, it remains non-curative. In the real-world setting, only 60% of patients with intermediate stage HCC receive TACE, with the remainder deviating to a range of other therapies that have shown promise in select patient subgroups. These include curative treatments (resection, ablation, and liver transplantation), radiotherapy (stereotactic and radioembolization), systemic therapies, and their combination. In this review, we summarize the classifications and current management for patients with intermediate stage HCC as well as highlight recent key developments in this space.

scholarly journals Effect of Transarterial Chemoembolization on ALBI Grade in Intermediate-Stage Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Criteria for Unsuitable Cases Selection

Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (17) ◽  
pp. 4325
Author(s):  
Chen-Ta Chi ◽  
I-Cheng Lee ◽  
Rheun-Chuan Lee ◽  
Ya-Wen Hung ◽  
Chien-Wei Su ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
At Risk ◽  
Transarterial Chemoembolization ◽  
Standard Of Care ◽  
Intermediate Stage ◽  
Tumor Burden ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
Tumor Number ◽  
Tumor Involvement ◽  
Grade 3

Transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) is the standard of care for intermediate stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We aimed to identify unsuitable cases who were at risk of ALBI-grade migration by TACE. Consecutive 531 BCLC-B HCC patients undergoing TACE were reviewed, and factors associated with ALBI-grade migration were analyzed. There were 129 (24.3%) patients experienced acute ALBI-grade migration after TACE, and 85 (65.9%) out of the 129 patients had chronic ALBI-grade migration. Incidences of acute ALBI-grade migration were 13.9%, 29.0% for patients within or beyond up-to-7 criteria (p < 0.001) and 20.0%, 36.2% for patients within or beyond up-to-11 criteria (p < 0.001), respectively. HBV infection, tumor size plus tumor number criteria were risk factors associated with acute ALBI-grade migration. Bilobar tumor involvement was the risk factor of chronic ALBI-grade migration in patients with acute ALBI-grade migration. Up-to-eleven (p = 0.007) performed better than up-to-seven (p = 0.146) to differentiate risk of dynamic ALBI score changes. Moreover, ALBI-grade migration to grade 3 has adverse effect on survival. In conclusion, tumor burden beyond up-to-eleven was associated with ALBI-grade migration after TACE, indicating that up-to-eleven can select TACE-unsuitable HCC patients who are at risk of liver function deterioration.

scholarly journals VEROnA Protocol: A Pilot, Open-Label, Single-Arm, Phase 0, Window-of-Opportunity Study of Vandetanib-Eluting Radiopaque Embolic Beads (BTG-002814) in Patients With Resectable Liver Malignancies (Preprint)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Beaton ◽  
Henry F J Tregidgo ◽  
Sami A Znati ◽  
Sharon Forsyth ◽  
Matthew J Clarkson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Liver Metastases ◽  
Standard Of Care ◽  
Intermediate Stage ◽  
Window Of Opportunity ◽  
Current Standard ◽  
Open Label ◽  
Liver Malignancies ◽  
Surgical Specimen ◽  
Resected Liver ◽  
Phase 0

BACKGROUND Transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) is the current standard of care for patients with intermediate-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and is also a treatment option for patients with liver metastases from colorectal cancer. However, TACE is not a curative treatment, and tumor progression occurs in more than half of the patients treated. Despite advances and technical refinements of TACE, including the introduction of drug-eluting beads-TACE, the clinical efficacy of TACE has not been optimized, and improved arterial therapies are required. OBJECTIVE The primary objectives of the VEROnA study are to evaluate the safety and tolerability of vandetanib-eluting radiopaque embolic beads (BTG-002814) in patients with resectable liver malignancies and to determine concentrations of vandetanib and the N-desmethyl metabolite in plasma and resected liver following treatment with BTG-002814. METHODS The VEROnA study is a first-in-human, open-label, single-arm, phase 0, window-of-opportunity study of BTG-002814 (containing 100 mg vandetanib) delivered transarterially, 7 to 21 days before surgery in patients with resectable liver malignancies. Eligible patients have a diagnosis of colorectal liver metastases, or HCC (Childs Pugh A), diagnosed histologically or radiologically, and are candidates for liver surgery. All patients are followed up for 28 days following surgery. Secondary objectives of this study are to evaluate the anatomical distribution of BTG-002814 on noncontrast-enhanced imaging, to evaluate histopathological features in the surgical specimen, and to assess changes in blood flow on dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging following treatment with BTG-002814. Exploratory objectives of this study are to study blood biomarkers with the potential to identify patients likely to respond to treatment and to correlate the distribution of BTG-002814 on imaging with pathology by 3-dimensional modeling. RESULTS Enrollment for the study was completed in February 2019. Results of a planned interim analysis were reviewed by a safety committee after the first 3 patients completed follow-up. The recommendation of the committee was to continue the study without any changes to the dose or trial design, as there were no significant unexpected toxicities related to BTG-002814. CONCLUSIONS The VEROnA study is studying the feasibility of administering BTG-002814 to optimize the use of this novel technology as liver-directed therapy for patients with primary and secondary liver cancer. CLINICALTRIAL ClinicalTrial.gov NCT03291379; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03291379 INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT DERR1-10.2196/13696

Longitudinal monitoring of cell-free DNA to predict for transarterial chemo-embolization failure in hepatocellular carcinoma.

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e14544-e14544
Author(s):  
Joanne Evans ◽  
Caroline Ward ◽  
Madhava Pai ◽  
Rohini Sharma
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
High Sensitivity ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Standard Of Care ◽  
Intermediate Stage ◽  
Cell Free Dna ◽  
Early Stage Disease ◽  
Free Dna ◽  
Synthetic Function

e14544 Background: Transarterial chemo-embolization (TACE) is the standard of care for patients with intermediate stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with adequate synthetic function, and as bridging treatment in early stage disease. Survival outcomes are heterogeneous, and improved biomarkers are needed for detection of early relapse. Current practice relies on monitoring of alpha-foetoprotein (AFP) and serial imaging. Circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) is a compelling emergent biomarker. Here, we describe the first study of cfDNA as prognostic biomarker in HCC following TACE. Methods: 34 patients treated with TACE (2012-2018) who had full demographic information and longitudinal stored plasma available were identified. Samples were retrieved and cfDNA extracted using the QIAamp Circulating Nucleic Acid Kit. cfDNA yields were quantified by high-sensitivity Qubit analysis. Results: 74% of patients were male, 66% had Childs Pugh A disease, and 56% of patients secreted AFP ( > 10ng/mL). Aetiologies of liver diseases were varied: viral hepatitis (44%), alcoholic or non-alcoholic steatohepatitis/cirrhosis (29%), hereditary or auto-immune (12%), and unexplained (15%). 79% of patients saw a fall in cfDNA titre following TACE. Where no reduction was seen, patients had a poorer median overall survival than those who did: 20 months (range 5.13 – 66.7 months) compared to 37 months (9.9 – 79.3 months). Of note, 44% of patients were AFP non-secretors. Here, cfDNA had a clear advantage in disease monitoring, with mean cfDNA titres in this group falling post treatment: from 1605.1 (range 185.9 – 6830) ng/mL to 693.7 (range undetectable - 2300) ng/mL and rising again with subsequent progression (mean of 1329.2 - range 616 – 3341 - ng/mL). Conclusions: These findings support a cost-effective monitoring role for plasma cfDNA analysis following treatment with TACE, with an added advantage in AFP non-secretors. Prospective validation is suggested to fully assess clinical utility.

scholarly journals VEROnA Protocol: A Pilot, Open-Label, Single-Arm, Phase 0, Window-of-Opportunity Study of Vandetanib-Eluting Radiopaque Embolic Beads (BTG-002814) in Patients With Resectable Liver Malignancies

10.2196/13696 ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (10) ◽  
pp. e13696
Author(s):  
Laura Beaton ◽  
Henry F J Tregidgo ◽  
Sami A Znati ◽  
Sharon Forsyth ◽  
Matthew J Clarkson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Liver Metastases ◽  
Standard Of Care ◽  
Intermediate Stage ◽  
Window Of Opportunity ◽  
Current Standard ◽  
Open Label ◽  
Liver Malignancies ◽  
Surgical Specimen ◽  
Resected Liver ◽  
Phase 0

Background Transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) is the current standard of care for patients with intermediate-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and is also a treatment option for patients with liver metastases from colorectal cancer. However, TACE is not a curative treatment, and tumor progression occurs in more than half of the patients treated. Despite advances and technical refinements of TACE, including the introduction of drug-eluting beads-TACE, the clinical efficacy of TACE has not been optimized, and improved arterial therapies are required. Objective The primary objectives of the VEROnA study are to evaluate the safety and tolerability of vandetanib-eluting radiopaque embolic beads (BTG-002814) in patients with resectable liver malignancies and to determine concentrations of vandetanib and the N-desmethyl metabolite in plasma and resected liver following treatment with BTG-002814. Methods The VEROnA study is a first-in-human, open-label, single-arm, phase 0, window-of-opportunity study of BTG-002814 (containing 100 mg vandetanib) delivered transarterially, 7 to 21 days before surgery in patients with resectable liver malignancies. Eligible patients have a diagnosis of colorectal liver metastases, or HCC (Childs Pugh A), diagnosed histologically or radiologically, and are candidates for liver surgery. All patients are followed up for 28 days following surgery. Secondary objectives of this study are to evaluate the anatomical distribution of BTG-002814 on noncontrast-enhanced imaging, to evaluate histopathological features in the surgical specimen, and to assess changes in blood flow on dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging following treatment with BTG-002814. Exploratory objectives of this study are to study blood biomarkers with the potential to identify patients likely to respond to treatment and to correlate the distribution of BTG-002814 on imaging with pathology by 3-dimensional modeling. Results Enrollment for the study was completed in February 2019. Results of a planned interim analysis were reviewed by a safety committee after the first 3 patients completed follow-up. The recommendation of the committee was to continue the study without any changes to the dose or trial design, as there were no significant unexpected toxicities related to BTG-002814. Conclusions The VEROnA study is studying the feasibility of administering BTG-002814 to optimize the use of this novel technology as liver-directed therapy for patients with primary and secondary liver cancer. Trial Registration ClinicalTrial.gov NCT03291379; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03291379 International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) DERR1-10.2196/13696

scholarly journals Analyses of Intermediate-Stage Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients Receiving Transarterial Chemoembolization prior to Designing Clinical Trials

Liver Cancer ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 596-612
Author(s):  
Keisuke Koroki ◽  
Sadahisa Ogasawara ◽  
Yoshihiko Ooka ◽  
Hiroaki Kanzaki ◽  
Kengo Kanayama ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
Clinical Trials ◽  
Transarterial Chemoembolization ◽  
Checkpoint Inhibitors ◽  
Intermediate Stage ◽  
Tumor Burden ◽  
Durable Response ◽  
High Burden ◽  
High Tumor Burden ◽  
Stage Disease

Background: Intermediate-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has a high frequency of recurrence and progression to advanced stage after transarterial chemoembolization (TACE), particularly in patients with high tumor burden. Promising new results from immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) and ICI-based therapies are expected to replace TACE, especially in HCC patients with high tumor burden. Aims: The present study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of TACE with a view to design clinical trials comparing TACE and ICIs. Methods: We retrospectively identified intermediate-stage HCC patients undergoing TACE from our database and subdivided patients into low- and high-burden groups based on three subclassification models using the diameter of the maximum tumor and the number of tumors. Clinical outcomes were compared between low- and high-burden intermediate-stage HCC. Results: Of 1,161 newly diagnosed HCC patients, 316 were diagnosed with intermediate-stage disease and underwent TACE. The median overall survival from high-burden intermediate-stage disease was not significantly different by clinical course, reaching high tumor burden in all subclassification models. The prognosis of high-burden patients after initial TACE was poor compared with low-burden patients for two models (except for the up-to-seven criteria). In all three models, high-burden patients showed a poor durable response rate (DRR) both ≥3 months and ≥6 months and poor prognosis after TACE. Moreover, patients with confirmed durable response ≥3 months and ≥6 months showed better survival outcomes for high-burden intermediate-stage HCC. Conclusions: Our results demonstrate the basis for selecting a population that would not benefit from TACE and setting DRR ≥3 months or ≥6 months as alternative endpoints when designing clinical trials comparing TACE and ICIs.

Hepatocellular Carcinoma Tumor Board: Making Sense of the Technologies

2015 ◽  
pp. e213-e220 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ghassan K. Abou-Alfa ◽  
Jorge Marrero ◽  
John Renz ◽  
Riccardo Lencioni
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
Transarterial Chemoembolization ◽  
Viral Infections ◽  
Surgical Techniques ◽  
Standard Of Care ◽  
Intermediate Stage ◽  
Tumor Board ◽  
Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver ◽  
Advanced Hcc ◽  
Curative Therapy

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a leading cause of cancer-related death, with a rising global incidence. The vast majority of HCC cases occur in the setting of liver cirrhosis, mainly due to chronic hepatitis C (HCV) or hepatitis B (HBV) viral infections, alcohol consumption, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. The new approval of curative therapy with two NS5A inhibitors, ledipasvir and sofosbuvir, for the treatment of HCV will no doubt affect HCC incidence and outcome. No studies have evaluated the use of the new antivirals in patients with HCC. Staging and scoring remain an integral part of the management of patients with advanced HCC. Curative therapies for the treatment of HCC are evolving. Improvements in surgical techniques and risk stratification for orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) have expanded access and improved the outlook for patients suffering from HCC. Interventional locoregional treatments continue to play a key role in the management of HCC. Transarterial chemoembolization is considered the standard of care for patients with noninvasive multinodular tumors at the intermediate stage. Bland embolization appears to have similar virtues in some studies. Y90 radioembolization represents a promising treatment option for patients unfit or refractory to transarterial chemoembolization. The advent of sorafenib as a standard of care with an improvement in survival sadly remain the only major breakthrough in the treatment of advanced HCC, with mounting negative data from multiple clinical trials. Advances in immunotherapy and customized therapy may hopefully help reverse this tide.

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