Combination therapy reduces transarterial chemoembolization resistance in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma

Transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) is a main treatment for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but tumors often become resistant. Combining TACE programmed cell death (ligand) 1 [PD-(L)1] inhibitors and molecular targeted therapies (MTT) may improve outcomes, but its role in preventing TACE resistance requires further investigation.

To compare if TACE plus PD-(L)1 inhibitors and MTT reduces TACE resistance and improves survival in advanced HCC compared to TACE alone.

We analyzed 721 patients: 532 received TACE only, and 72 received TACE with PD-(L)1 inhibitors and MTT. After matching patient characteristics, 144 patients (72 pairs) were compared. Tumor progression after 3 treatment cycles was measured.

The combination group exhibited significantly lower TACE resistance rates compared to the monotherapy group (9.7% vs 38.8%, P < 0.001). Moreover, patients in the combination group experienced prolonged progression-free survival (progression-free survival: 17.5 months vs 9.1 months, P = 0.004) and overall survival (overall survival: 20.8 months vs 16.4 months, P = 0.008). These findings underscore the efficacy of combination therapy in enhancing therapeutic outcomes in advanced HCC.

Adding immunotherapy and targeted drugs to TACE significantly reduces treatment resistance and improves survival in advanced liver cancer, suggesting it may become a new standard treatment.