PD-1 Inhibitors Combined with Antiangiogenic Therapy with or Without Transarterial Chemoembolization in the Treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Propensity Matching Analysis

Abstract

Han Li,1,* Ke Su,1,* Lu Guo,2,* Yi Jiang,1 Ke Xu,1 Tao Gu,1 Jiali Chen,1 Zhenying Wu,1 Pan Wang,3 Xi Zhang,4 Yushan Yan,1 Siyuan Li,1 Xue Wu,1 Lei Han,5 Kun He,6 Lianbin Wen,7 Bo Li,4 Yunwei Han1 1Department of Oncology, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, 646000, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Ophthalmology, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, 646000, People’s Republic of China; 3Clinical Research Institute, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, 646000, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of General Surgery (Hepatobiliary Surgery), The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, 646000, People’s Republic of China; 5Department of Oncology, Affiliated Hospital of Jining Medical University, Jining, 272000, People’s Republic of China; 6Clinical Medical College, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, 646000, People’s Republic of China; 7Sichuan Provincial People’s Hospital, Chengdu, 610072, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Yunwei Han; Bo Li, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, 25 TAIPING Street, Luzhou City, Sichuan Province, People’s Republic of China, Tel [phone], Email [email protected]; [email protected]: At present, it is not known whether targeting plus immunotherapy combined with transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) can improve the efficacy of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The aim of this retrospective experiment was to explore the difference in clinical efficacy between antiangiogenic drugs plus PD-1 inhibitors combined with and without TACE.Methods: Clinical data of 145 patients with HCC who received anti-angiogenesis therapy plus PD-1 inhibitor combined with TACE (TACE-P-T) (n = 62) or anti-angiogenesis therapy combined with PD-1 inhibitor (P-T) (n = 83) in China from October 2018 to December 2022 were collected and reviewed. We used propensity matching (PSM) to create two groups with comparable baseline scores, compared their median survival time (mOS) and median progression-free survival time (mPFS), and performed subgroup analysis.Results: Before PSM, the mOS and mPFS of patients were 20.3 and 5.0 months in the triple therapy group and 13.6 and 7.4 months in the control group, respectively. After PSM, the mOS and mPFS of patients were 19.7 and 6.6 months in the triple treatment group and 10.5 and 3.7 months in the control group, respectively. Therefore, the TACE-P-T group showed better survival outcomes than P-T. In the subgroup analysis, compared with the control group, the mOS was 10.7 vs 20.3 months in the alpha fetoprotein (AFP) (≥ 400ng/mL/< 400ng/mL) group, 29.3 vs 7.4 months in the alkaline phosphatase (ALP) (≥ 125u/L/< 125u/L) group and 10.5 vs 20.0 months in the Portal vein invasion (PVTT) group.Conclusion: Antiangiogenic therapy combined with PD-1 inhibitors combined with TACE has significant survival benefits for HCC patients.Keywords: HCC, PD-1 inhibitors, antiangiogenic therapy, TACE

Keywords

• hcc
• pd-1 inhibitors
• antiangiogenic therapy;tace