SAN FRANCISCO — Adding transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) to treatment with lenvatinib (Lenvima) significantly improved survival compared to levantinib alone in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in the phase 3 LAUNCH trial.
The combination of TACE and levantinib "represents a potential new first-line treatment option for patients with advanced HCC," said study author Ming Kuang, MD, PhD, professor in hepatobiliary surgery and interventional ultrasound and director of the cancer center in the First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
The combination of the two approaches was "safe and effective for patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma and demonstrated remarkable improvements in overall survival, progression-free survival, and overall response rate, as well as acceptable toxicity," he said.
Patients receiving combination therapy achieved a median overall survival of 17.8 months, compared with 11.5 months in the lenvatinib arm (HR, 0.45; P < .001). Similarly, median progression-free survival also favored lenvatinib plus TACE: 10.6 months vs 6.4 months (HR, 0.43; P < .001).
The study results were presented here at the Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium (GICS) 2022.
Discussing the abstract, Anthony B. El-Khoueiry, MD, from the University of Southern California, Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, Los Angeles, said the results are "intruiging," and he commended the researchers on carrying out this study.
