Madappa Kundranda, MD, PhD, a medical oncologist at Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the frontline therapeutic options for patients with newly diagnosed hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) that are not candidates for surgery or transplant.
The most common option based on involvement of the liver and extrahepatic is systemic therapy, says Kundranda. Certain liver-directed therapies can be used in conjunction with systemic therapies when disease is predominantly in the liver, but there are currently 2 FDA approved agents for the frontline treatment of HCC.
Sorafenib (Nexavar) was approved in the frontline by the FDA based on data from the SHARP trial, which is over 10 years old now. The REFLECT trial led to the approval of lenvatinib (Lenvima) for the frontline treatment of HCC, says Kundranda. The CheckMate-040 trial appeared encouraging for nivolumab (Opdivo) as frontline treatment, but data presented at ESMO determined the trial did not meet its prespecified endpoint.
Overall, lenvatinib and sorafenib are the 2 FDA-approved options available for the treatment of patients with HCC in the first-line setting. However, multiple clinical trials evaluating different combinations, including the combination of chemotherapies, are currently ongoing for the frontline treatment of HCC.
For more resources and information regarding anticancer targeted therapies in hepatocellular carcinoma: [ Ссылка ]
