AACR: Adjuvant Atezolizumab + Bevacizumab Beneficial in Liver Cancer

TUESDAY, April 18, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- For patients with high-risk hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), adjuvant therapy of atezolizumab with bevacizumab (atezo + bev) prolongs recurrence-free survival, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research, held from April 14 to 19 in Orlando, Florida.

Pierce Chow, M.B.B.S., Ph.D., from the National Cancer Center in Singapore, and colleagues examined the efficacy of adjuvant atezo + bev for delaying or preventing recurrence in patients with high-risk HCC following resection or ablation, with high risk based on tumor burden, vascular invasion, and tumor differentiation. Patients were randomly assigned to receive atezo + bev for a period of one year or 17 cycles or to undergo active surveillance (arms A and B, respectively); patients in arm B were eligible for crossover to atezo + bev following confirmed recurrence. The intention-to-treat population included 334 patients in each arm.

The researchers found that the primary end point of independent review facility recurrence-free survival was met with a hazard ratio of 0.72 at interim analysis with a median follow-up of 17.4 months; across clinical subgroups, the results were generally consistent. Similar investigator-assessed recurrence-free survival was seen (hazard ratio, 0.70). The safety of atezo + bev was consistent with the well-established safety profiles of each therapeutic agent.

"Due to the lack of proven adjuvant therapy strategies for HCC, patients who are treated with surgical resection or thermal ablation with curative intent tend to have significantly higher recurrence rates and shorter overall survival than patients with other types of cancer; for example, colorectal and breast cancer treated with similar curative intent," Chow said in a statement. "The positive results of IMBrave050 address this huge and urgent unmet clinical need in HCC."

Chow disclosed financial ties to pharmaceutical companies, including Genentech, the manufacturer of atezolizumab and bevacizumab. Parent company F. Hoffmann-La Roche funded the study.

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