In a major breakthrough, scientists have discovered that combining immunotherapy with standard treatment for liver cancer could significantly delay the disease’s progression, offering new hope for patients.
The findings, published in The Lancet, come after two groundbreaking clinical trials that examined new treatment combinations for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common type of liver cancer. These trials suggest that the addition of immunotherapy to current standard treatments could extend survival times for patients with advanced liver cancer, potentially marking the first significant change in treatment protocols in two decades.
A New Approach for Inoperable Liver Cancer
Currently, patients with inoperable liver cancer typically undergo transarterial chemoembolization (TACE), a procedure that delivers chemotherapy directly into the blood vessels feeding the tumor. This is followed by the injection of small particles to block the blood supply to the tumor. Despite its use, the standard survival rate post-treatment remains limited, often extending only a few months.
However, the results from the Emerald-1 and Leap-012 trials suggest that combining TACE with immunotherapy may drastically improve outcomes for these patients.
The Trials: Combining Immunotherapy with TACE
In the Emerald-1 trial, researchers tested a combination of durvalumab—an immunotherapy drug—and bevacizumab, a medication that blocks blood vessel growth, alongside TACE. The trial, which involved 616 patients from across the globe, found that patients who received the combination treatment experienced a significant delay in cancer progression, with an average progression-free survival time of 15 months. In comparison, patients who received TACE combined with a placebo showed only 8.2 months of delayed progression.
A second trial, Leap-012, examined a different immunotherapy, pembrolizumab, alongside lenvatinib, a cancer growth inhibitor, in combination with TACE. This trial involved 480 patients worldwide. The results were similarly promising, with patients receiving the combination treatment showing an average progression-free survival time of 14.6 months, compared to just 10 months for those treated with TACE and placebo.
Experts Weigh In
Experts from University Hospital Wurzburg in Germany, which participated in the study, emphasized the importance of these findings. “The combination of TACE with lenvatinib and pembrolizumab showed a clinically meaningful improvement in progression-free survival for patients with unresectable, non-metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma compared to TACE plus placebo,” the researchers wrote.
These promising results represent a significant advancement in the fight against liver cancer, providing a new potential treatment option for patients whose cancer cannot be surgically removed. If further studies confirm these findings, immunotherapy could become a routine part of the treatment plan for HCC, offering patients longer survival times and a better quality of life.
Looking Ahead
While the clinical trials have demonstrated encouraging results, experts caution that further research and long-term studies are necessary to fully understand the benefits and risks of combining immunotherapy with TACE for liver cancer. However, the success of these trials marks a hopeful step forward in the ongoing battle against liver cancer.
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