Search

Introduction: Atezolizumab plus bevacizumab (Atez/Bev) is a standard treatment for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) due to its good antitumor and survival prolongation effects. Post-progression survival (PPS) has been reported to be a great contributor in the treatment with tyrosine kinase inhibitors for unresectable HCC. This study aimed to clarify the significance of progression-free survival (PFS) or PPS of Atez/Bev treatment for HCC., Methods: We analyzed the correlations of PFS and PPS with overall survival (OS) in studies of HCC patients treated with Atez/Bev and evaluated the contribution to OS in Atez/Bev treatment with patients at our institutions as clinical practice., Results: Analysis of 18 studies involving 3,752 patients treated with Atez/Bev found that PPS had a stronger correlation with OS (R2 = 0.872, p < 0.001) than did PFS (R2 = 0.605, p = 0.001). Analysis of 80 patients with unresectable HCC treated with Atez/Bev found that presence of antitumor responses during Atez/Bev was the most significant contributor to OS, and post-progression treatment after Atez/Bev also significantly contribute to OS., Conclusion: The presence of antitumor response with tumor shrinkage during Atez/Bev treatment contributes to good OS through its durable response. Atez/Bev treatment could be considered as first-line treatment for unresectable HCC. However, there is a need for optimal biomarkers for good antitumor response., (© 2023 S. Karger AG, Basel.)

Background/aim: Lenvatinib is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) more effective against hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) than sorafenib, making lenvatinib a first-line treatment option for patients with unresectable HCC. In patients treated with sorafenib, post-progression survival (PPS) rather than progression-free survival (PFS) is essential for overall survival (OS). However, the importance of PPS for OS in patients treated with lenvatinib is uncertain, and optimal treatment after lenvatinib failure has not yet been established., Patients and Methods: The present study investigated the correlations of PFS and PPS with OS in studies of HCC patients treated with lenvatinib by weighted linear regression analysis. Furthermore, the contribution of treatment regimens after lenvatinib failure to OS were evaluated in daily clinical practice., Results: An analysis of 20 studies with 4,054 patients found that PPS had a stronger correlation with OS (r=0.869, p<0.001) than did PFS (r=0.505, p=0.007). Analysis of 79 patients with unresectable HCC treated with first-line lenvatinib showed that subsequent treatment was the most significant contributor to OS. Second-line sorafenib was administered to 25 patients, with late transition to third-line treatment being highest among patients who received second-line treatment., Conclusion: PPS contributes significantly to OS in HCC treatment with TKIs, with multi-sequential treatment being a key determinant of longer OS., (Copyright © 2022 International Institute of Anticancer Research (Dr. George J. Delinasios), All rights reserved.)

This is the first report to describe the potential for classification of cancer using anti-phosphoprotein monoclonal antibodies (PPmAbs) and multiple discriminant analysis. Over 150 hybridoma clones producing monoclonal antibodies were generated against a human phosphoprotein mixture derived from a human leukemia cell line. The expression profiles of 22 cell lines from 9 different types of cancer using PPmAbs were examined. The relationship between cancer cells and the expression of human phosphoprotein in the cells was analyzed by multiple discriminant analysis and was used to construct a diagnostic system for cancers. Multiple discriminant analysis was able to successfully classify the cell lines into the correct cancer group by using the diagnostic system for cancers. These results show that multiple discriminant analysis based on phosphoprotein expression in cells or tissues may be a potentially valuable method for assisting in the classification of several cancers.