Multicenter retrospective study of first-line ICIs plus anti-VEGF therapy with or without TACE for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma

The value of transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) in the treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (aHCC) is not clear. The retrospective CHANCE2201 study, at 63 centers in China, included patients with previously untreated aHCC, who received immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) and anti-VEGF therapy with or without TACE. Post-application of sIPTW, baseline characteristics were well-balanced between the two groups. The figure shows that overall survival, progression-free survival assessed by RECIST v1.1, and progression survival assessed by mRECIST were significantly improved by addition of TACE to ICI-VEGF. A higher objective response rate was observed in the TACE-ICI-VEGF group compared with the ICI-VEGF group (RECIST v1.1: 41.2% versus 22.9%; p<0.0001 and mRECIST: 47.3% versus 29.9%; pxtagstartz0.0001). Grade 3 and higher adverse events occurred in 22.2% of the TACE-ICI-VEGF patients and 18.1% of the ICI-VEGF patients. The authors conclude that these results support use of TACE combined with ICIs and anti-VEGF antibody/TKIs as first-line treatment for aHCC.