ILCA

In an interview, Amaia Lujambio, MD discussed the diversity of genomic alterations in hepatocellular and advanced in molecular testing that could shape future understanding of the disease.

A study has shown that high interferon signaling and expression of MHC-II related genes can predict response to therapy is patients with advanced heptocellular carcinoma being treated for the first time.

Atezolizumab given in combination with bevacizumab led to an improvement in overall survival compared with sorafenib in patients with albumin-bilirubin grade 1 hepatocellular carcinoma.

Patients with inoperable intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma have demonstrated tendency to live longer when elective internal radiation therapy with Y90 is added to chemotherapy.

Efficacy and safety have been demonstrated with the combination of durvalumab with tremelimumab and transcatheter arterial chemoembolization or radiofrequency ablation in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma.

Amaia Lujambio Goizueta, PhD, discusses mutations commonly seen in hepatocellular carcinoma, and the targeted therapies available for these tumors.

Neoadjuvant immunotherapy with nivolumab plus percutaneous electroporation has demonstrated early signals of promise in the treatment of patients with Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer class A hepatocellular carcinoma, according to preliminary reports from the phase 2 NIVOLEP trial.

Although the use of α-fetoprotein has long been established in hepatocellular carcinoma as a biomarker for screening and diagnosis, its role in treatment selection and prognosis following systemic therapy is a moving target.

Findings from the NASIR-HCC phase 2 clinical trial demonstrated the safety and tolerability of nivolumab administered with selective internal radiation therapy containing yttrium-90 resin in patients who were ineligible for transarterial chemoembolization.

Better response in survival were observed in patients with Child-Pugh B cirrhosis, a patient population that has limited treatment options, when given cabozantinib in the phase 3 CELESTIAL study.

Andrew Zhu, MD, PhD, director of Liver Cancer Research and Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, shares his advice on making decisions for frontline treatment of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

Novel immunotherapy combinations are currently under investigation for the treatment of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, with several promising phase III trials incorporating checkpoint inhibitors now underway. Finding successful ways to combine these therapies is among the most significant trends emerging as part of the next wave of discovery in the field, according to experts.

Second-line therapy with cabozantinib demonstrated efficacy in treating patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who also had a history of hepatitis B virus infection, according to findings from a subgroup analysis of the phase III CELESTIAL trial. 

Josep M. Llovet, MD, PhD, founder and director of the Liver Cancer Program and professor of medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai Hospital, discusses the current treatment landscape for liver cancer and the advances seen over the last decade at the 2018 International Liver Cancer Association Annual Conference.

Strong efficacy signals and a tolerable safety profile were observed with the combination of atezolizumab (Tecentriq) and bevacizumab (Avastin) in the first-line treatment of patients with unresectable or metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma, according to preliminary findings presented at the 2018 International Liver Cancer Association Annual Conference.

According to a presentation during the 2018 International Liver Cancer Association Annual Conference, the rapid development of novel therapies for patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma has dramatically expanded systemic treatment options over the last 2 years. This has created a need for new sequencing strategies in HCC. 

Fabio Piscaglia, MD, discusses the updated 2018 European Association for the Study of the Liver clinical guidelines, which were presented during the 12th International Liver Cancer Association Annual Conference in London, United Kingdom.

<em>Targeted Oncology</em>, a print and digital resource that offers content and expert opinions on precision medicine in oncology, becomes partners with the International Liver Cancer Association, announced Michael J. Hennessy Jr., president of MJH Associates Inc., parent company of <em>Targeted Oncology.</em>

Multidisciplinary findings across the field of hepatocellular carcinoma will be showcased at the 11th International Liver Cancer Association Annual Conference on September 15 to 17 in Seoul, South Korea. Abstracts already under discussion at this year&rsquo;s ILCA conference include pivotal research on VGEF inhibitors, immunotherapy regimens, and biomarkers.

Amit G. Singal, MD, MS, stressed that improvement for precision screening for hepatocellular carcinoma with the current screening techniques through its risk-stratifying approach.

Hepatocyte pERK-positive immunostaining and microvascular invasion were independent prognostic factors of recurrence-free survival for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma treated with adjuvant sorafenib. According to an analysis of the phase III STORM study presented at the 11th International Liver Cancer Association Annual Conference,&nbsp;a predictive biomarker for recurrence was not uncovered.

According to updated phase III results presented at the 11th Annual International Liver Cancer Association Conference,&nbsp;first-line therapy with Lenvatinib in the frontline setting continued to be noninferior in overall survival and achieve significant improvements in progression-free survival, time to progression, and objective response rate versus sorafenib for patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma

Direct acting antivirals, a novel, oral hepatitis C therapy, is associated with a high response rate. DAAs are used in most patients being treated for hepatitis C, including those with decompensated cirrhosis. However, this treatment has been replaced by&nbsp;interferon-based therapy for patients with hepatitis C.

According to findings presented at the 11th Annual Conference on the International Liver Cancer Association in Seoul, South Korea, BLU-554 induced an overall response rate of 16% in patients with FGF 19 immunohistochemistry-positive hepatocellular carcinoma.&nbsp;BLU-554 is a potent and highly selective inhibitor of fibroblast growth factor receptor 4.

Excitement surrounds systemic therapies for hepatocellular carcinoma, with 1 new drug recently approved, 2 agents pending FDA decisions, and later-stage clinical trials for multiple therapies on the horizon.