Sorafenib after RFA in HCC patients: a pilot study

Area of Science:

• Hepatobiliary Medicine
• Oncology
• Interventional Radiology

Background:

• Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains a significant global health challenge.
• Optimizing treatment strategies for intermediate to advanced HCC is crucial.
• Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is a locoregional therapy for HCC, often followed by systemic treatment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the efficacy and safety of sorafenib when administered after radiofrequency ablation (RFA) in HCC patients.
• To compare outcomes of sequential RFA and sorafenib therapy with sorafenib monotherapy.

Main Methods:

• A cohort of 44 patients with intermediate or advanced HCC underwent RFA followed by sorafenib.
• Key endpoints included time to progression (TTP), response rate (RR), treatment duration, and adverse events.
• An exploratory comparison was made against patients receiving sorafenib alone.

Main Results:

• The RFA + sorafenib group achieved a TTP of 10.3 months and an RR of 61% (2 complete responses).
• The average duration of sorafenib therapy was 10.9 months, with no new safety concerns identified.
• In comparison, sorafenib monotherapy resulted in a TTP of 7.2 months and an RR of 40% (1 complete response).

Conclusions:

• Sequential treatment with RFA followed by sorafenib demonstrates promising effectiveness and a favorable safety profile in HCC patients.
• This combined approach warrants consideration as a potential treatment strategy for managing HCC.