Photo Credit: Mohammed Haneefa Nizamudeen

The following is a summary of “Utility and predictive value of the CRAFITY score in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma treated with transarterial chemoembolization plus tyrosine kinase inhibitors and PD-1 inhibitor,” published in the February 2024 issue of Oncology by Zhang et al.

The study aimed to assess the utility and predictive value of the CRAFITY score (CRP and AFP in ImmunoTherapY) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients treated with a combination of transarterial chemoembolization (TACE), tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), and immunotherapy. A retrospective analysis was conducted on data from HCC patients who received this combination therapy from January 2019 to June 2022. Patients were categorized into three groups based on their CRAFITY scores: CRAFITY-low (0 points), CRAFITY-intermediate (1 point), and CRAFITY-high (2 points), depending on their levels of CRP and AFP. The study evaluated overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), adverse events (AEs), and tumor response at various intervals post-treatment. 

Multivariate analysis revealed that lower CRAFITY scores were associated with improved OS and PFS, with TACE sessions also impacting OS. Additionally, the CRAFITY-low group exhibited a higher objective response rate (ORR) at the 3-month evaluation, while the disease control rate (DCR) differed significantly among the groups at the 12-month follow-up. However, there were no notable differences in severe AEs among the groups. These findings suggest that the CRAFITY score could serve as a simple and effective tool for predicting treatment outcomes, tumor response, and AEs in HCC patients undergoing combination therapy with TACE, TKIs, and PD-1 inhibitors.

 Source: bmccancer.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12885-024-11936-0