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Karger Publishers, Liver Cancer, 1(12), p. 7-18, 2022

DOI: 10.1159/000526639

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First-Line Systemic Therapies for Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Systematic Review and Patient-Level Network Meta-Analysis

This paper is made freely available by the publisher.
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.

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Data provided by SHERPA/RoMEO

Abstract

<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> Sorafenib was historically the standard of care for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (aHCC) until it was superseded by the combination of atezolizumab and bevacizumab. Thereafter, several novel first-line combination therapies have demonstrated favorable outcomes. The efficacies of these treatments in relation to current and previous standards of care are unknown, necessitating an overarching evaluation. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> A systematic literature search was conducted on PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, and the Cochrane Controlled Register of Trials for phase III randomized controlled trials investigating first-line systemic therapies for aHCC. Kaplan-Meier curves for overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were graphically reconstructed to retrieve individual patient-level data. Derived hazard ratios (HRs) for each study were pooled in a random-effects network meta-analysis (NMA). NMAs were also conducted using study-level HRs for various subgroups, according to viral etiology, Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) staging, alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels, macrovascular invasion, and extrahepatic spread. Treatment strategies were ranked using <i>p</i> scores. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Among 4,321 articles identified, 12 trials and 9,589 patients were included for analysis. Only two therapies showed OS benefit over sorafenib: combined anti-programmed-death and anti-VEGF pathway inhibitor monoclonal antibodies (Anti-PD-(L)1/VEGF Ab), including atezolizumab-bevacizumab and sintilimab-bevacizumab biosimilar (HR = 0.63, 95% CI = 0.53–0.76) and tremelimumab-durvalumab (HR = 0.78, 95% CI = 0.66–0.92). Anti-PD-(L)1/VEGF Ab showed OS benefit over all other therapies except tremelimumab-durvalumab. Low heterogeneity (<i>I</i><sup>2</sup> = 0%) and inconsistency (Cochran’s <i>Q</i> = 0.52, <i>p</i> = 0.773) was observed. <i>p</i> scores for OS ranked Anti-PD-(L)1/VEGF Ab as the best treatment in all subgroups, except hepatitis B where atezolizumab-cabozantinib ranked highest for both OS and PFS, as well as nonviral HCC and AFP ≥400 μg/L where tremelimumab-durvalumab ranked highest for OS. <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> This NMA supports Anti-PD-(L)1/VEGF Ab as the first-line therapy for aHCC and demonstrates a comparable benefit for tremelimumab-durvalumab which also extends to certain subgroups. Results of the subgroup analysis may guide treatment according to baseline characteristics, while pending further studies.