Early experience of atezolizumab plus bevacizumab therapy in Japanese patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma in real-world practice

• Published in: Investigational new drugs 2022-04, Vol.40 (2), p.392-402
• Main Authors: Hayakawa, Yuka, Tsuchiya, Kaoru, Kurosaki, Masayuki, Yasui, Yutaka, Kaneko, Shun, Tanaka, Yuki, Ishido, Shun, Inada, Kento, Kirino, Sakura, Yamashita, Koji, Nobusawa, Tsubasa, Matsumoto, Hiroaki, Kakegawa, Tatsuya, Higuchi, Mayu, Takaura, Kenta, Tanaka, Shohei, Maeyashiki, Chiaki, Tamaki, Nobuharu, Nakanishi, Hiroyuki, Itakura, Jun, Takahashi, Yuka, Asahina, Yasuhiro, Okamoto, Ryuichi, Izumi, Namiki
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: alpha-Fetoproteins; Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols - therapeutic use; Bevacizumab; Bevacizumab - adverse effects; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular - drug therapy; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular - pathology; Disease control; Early experience; Evaluation; Hepatocellular carcinoma; Humans; Immunotherapy; Japan; Liver cancer; Liver Neoplasms - drug therapy; Liver Neoplasms - pathology; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Monoclonal antibodies; Oncology; Patients; Pharmacology/Toxicology; Short Report; Solid tumors; Targeted cancer therapy; Therapy; Tumors; α-Fetoprotein
• ISSN: 0167-6997; 1573-0646
• DOI: 10.1007/s10637-021-01185-4

Summary Background. We aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of atezolizumab plus bevacizumab therapy in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (u-HCC) based on whether they had previously received systemic therapy, as well as the association of atezolizumab plus bevacizumab with early alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) response in real-world practice. Methods . A total of 52 patients with u-HCC were treated with atezolizumab plus bevacizumab between October 2020 and April 2021. The Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) and modified RECIST were used to evaluate radiological responses. Results . The patients received atezolizumab plus bevacizumab as 1st-line (n = 23), 2nd-line (n = 16), 3rd-line (n = 6), 4th-line (n = 3), 5th-line (n = 3), or 6th-line (n = 1) therapy. According to RECIST, the objective response rate (ORR) and disease control rate (DCR) in all patients were 15.4% and 57.7%. In the 1st-line patients, ORR and DCR based on RECIST 1.1 were 27.3% and 81.8%. The median time to progression (TTP) assessed by RECIST was significantly longer among patients receiving atezolizumab plus bevacizumab as 1st-line therapy than in patients receiving atezolizumab plus bevacizumab as later-line therapy ( P