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Nexavar prolongs survival for patients with HCC, extrahepatic spread

Nexavar monotherapy prolonged survival in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma with extrahepatic spread who achieved disease control, according to findings published in the Journal of Hepatology.

Researchers from Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine in Seoul, South Korea, analyzed data from 254 patients with HCC and extrahepatic spread (EHS) who were treated with Nexavar (sorafenib, Bayer Healthcare) monotherapy for a minimum of 8 weeks. The goal of the research was to determine outcomes and prognostic factors of sorafenib treatment in this patient population.

The median duration of radiologic progression after sorafenib therapy was 2.5 months and overall survival was 9.6 months, according to the research.

“Although the duration of radiologic progression was short, the survival outcome of our study was relatively favorable,” the researchers wrote.

Univariable and multivariable analyses showed intrahepatic tumor with macrovascular invasion (MVI; P < .001), intrahepatic tumor without MVI (P < .001), age younger than 60 years (P = .008), peritoneal involvement (P = .03) and underlying hepatitis B virus infection (P = .05) to be prognostic factors for radiologic progression.

Prognostic factors for OS were lack of disease control with sorafenib (P < .001), intrahepatic tumor with MVI (P < .001), intrahepatic tumor without MVI (P = .003), Child-Pugh class B cirrhosis (P = .009), serum alpha-fetoprotein of at least 200 ng/mL (P = .009) and alanine transaminase of at least 40 U/L (P = .041), according to the research.

Antiviral therapy was associated with favorable OS after sorafenib therapy in patients with chronic HBV (P = .003).

“This study demonstrates the difference in survival based on tumor response to sorafenib in HCC patients with EHS,” the researchers wrote. “The patients who had disease control with sorafenib showed a more favorable survival than those who did not have disease control.” – by Melinda Stevens

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.