The following is a summary of the study “Clinical study on conversion therapy of hepatocellular carcinoma – summary and comparison of clinical data from a single center of consecutive four years,” published in the October 2024 issue of Gastroenterology by Chang et al.
For a study, a team of researchers aimed to analyze real-world data regarding the surgical safety and survival outcomes of patients with initially unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (uHCC) who underwent conversion therapy.
They conducted a retrospective analysis of 2,984 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma treated at Shandong Cancer Hospital Affiliated with Shandong First Medical University between June 1, 2019, and June 1, 2023. The study focused on clinicopathological characteristics, response to systemic or loco-regional therapies, rates of surgical resection following conversion therapy, surgical safety, and postoperative recurrence.
Out of the total patient cohort, 38 patients successfully underwent conversion therapy, allowing for surgical resection. Radical resection was achieved in 35 of these patients. The objective response rate (ORR) was notable, with 52.6% under RECIST v1.1 criteria and 78.9% under mRECIST criteria. The disease control rate (DCR) reached 100%, while the pathologic complete response (pCR) was 42.9%. Treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) of any severity occurred in 97.4% of patients (37 individuals). The safety of both conversion therapy and direct surgery improved over time.
The median follow-up duration was 19.3 months. The 1-year disease-free survival (DFS) rate was 91.4% for patients undergoing direct surgery and 86.8% for those who had conversion surgery.
The study revealed that while only a small fraction (1.81%) of patients with uHCC could be converted to radical resection through this approach, combined systemic and loco-regional therapy proved a safe and effective conversion therapy option. The preliminary data suggest that conversion surgery patients experience favorable survival outcomes, with improved surgical safety over time.
Source: bmcgastroenterol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12876-024-03457-8
