Conversion therapy for patients with unresectable intermediate-advanced hepatocellular carcinoma: A comparative analysis in a real-world cohort.

Résumé

BACKGROUND: Conversion therapy offers new hope for patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (uHCC), thereby becoming a pivotal advancement in the field of liver cancer treatment.METHODS: This study consecutively collected clinical data of patients who received different conversion therapy regimens from June 2020 to March 2024, and retrospectively analyzed their efficacy and survival prognosis.RESULTS: In this study, the conversion success rate of patients with uHCC after conversion therapy was 20.4 ​%. Patients who successfully converted had a better long-term prognosis than those who failed. Compared with patients treated with combination therapy, the conversion rate and objective response rate of single local treatment were lower.CONCLUSIONS: The choice of conversion therapy is crucial for the prognosis of patients with uHCC. The triple therapy of Hepatic Arterial Infusion Chemotherapy (HAIC) combined with Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor (TKI) and Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor (ICI) demonstrates favorable outcomes and manageable safety profiles.