Drug Design, Development and Therapy (Jan 2019)

A real-life experience of sorafenib treatment for patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma: a retrospective analysis at Cathay General Hospital, 2007–2015

  • Huang CC,
  • Chen HY,
  • Chang RH,
  • Liao PA,
  • Lien HH,
  • Hung CS,
  • Yang SS,
  • Hu JT

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 13
pp. 397 – 404

Abstract

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Chi-Chun Huang,1 Hsin-Yi Chen,1 Ruei-Hsin Chang,1 Pen-An Liao,2 Heng-Hui Lien,3,4 Chih-Sheng Hung,5 Sien-Sing Yang,1,3 Jui-Ting Hu1,3 1Liver Center, Cathay General Hospital Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan; 2Department of Radiology, Cathay General Hospital Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan; 3School of Medicine, Fu-Jen Catholic University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan; 4Department of Surgery, Cathay General Hospital Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan; 5Department of Gastroenterology, Cathay General Hospital Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan Background: Sorafenib is an oral tyrosine kinase inhibitor that is indicated for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The aim of the present study was to determine the clinical outcomes of HCC patients receiving sorafenib in real-life clinical setting in comparison with formal clinical trials.Methods: Patients diagnosed with advanced HCC between 2007 and 2015 at single institute were retrospectively enrolled and evaluated for survival and tolerability following sorafenib treatment. Overall survival (OS) and duration of treatment (TTP) were examined by different stratifications including age, gender, etiology, liver functions, and severities.Results: A total of 67 advanced HCC patients were enrolled for analysis. Of the 67 eligible patients, 66 patients (99%) were diagnosed as Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer stage C and 45 (67%) were Child-Pugh A. Chronic hepatitis B virus infection was the main etiology (67%), followed by hepatitis C virus infection (12%) and alcohol liver disease (8%). The median duration of treatment was 3.0 months (95% CI 2.6–3.4 months) and median OS was 8.0 months (95% CI 5.0–11.0 months). By multivariate analysis, female gender (HR =2.462, 95% CI 1.126–5.387, P=0.024), Child-Pugh C (HR =3.913, 95% CI 1.063–14.410, P=0.04), extrahepatic spread (HR =2.123, 95% CI 1.122–4.015, P=0.021), and combined other therapies (HR =0.410, 95% CI 0.117–0.949, P=0.037) were the independent predictors of OS.Conclusion: OS of advanced HCC patients treated with sorafenib was longer than that reported in the Asia-Pacific trial study. Impaired hepatic functions are associated with the shorter survival in real-life setting. Keywords: advanced hepatocellular carcinoma, sorafenib, liver function, tumor burden

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