Reverse time-dependent effect of alphafetoprotein and disease control on survival of patients with Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer stage C hepatocellular carcinoma

Lenvatinib for large hepatocellular carcinomas with portal trunk invasion: Two case reports

BACKGROUND

In a phase III trial of lenvatinib as first-line treatment for advanced unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (uHCC), the drug proved non-inferior to sorafenib in terms of the overall survival, but offered better progression-free survival. However, the effects of lenvatinib in uHCC patients with a tumor thrombus in the main portal vein and/or a high tumor burden (tumor occupancy more than 50% of the total liver volume), remain unclear, because these were set as exclusion criteria in the aforementioned trial.

CASE SUMMARY

A 53-year-old man (case 1) and 66-year-old woman (case 2) with uHCC presented to us with a tumor thrombus in both the main portal vein and inferior vena cava, a high tumor burden accompanied by a tumor diameter greater than > 100 mm, and distant metastasis, with the residual liver function classified as grade 2A according to the modified Albumin–Bilirubin grading. We started both patients on lenvatinib. The therapeutic effect, as evaluated by the modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors, was rated as partial response in both case 1 and case 2 (at 8 wk and 4 wk after the start of lenvatinib administration, respectively). The therapeutic effect was sustained for 6 mo in case 1 and 20 mo in case 2. Fever occurred as an adverse event in both case 1 and 2, and hyperthyroidism and thrombocytopenia in only case 2, neither of which, however, necessitated treatment discontinuation.

CONCLUSION

Even in hepatocellular carcinoma patients with poor prognostic factors, if the liver function is well-preserved, lenvatinib is effective and safe.

Early recurrence detected in hepatocellular carcinoma patients after transcatheter arterial chemoembolization treatment with plasma cell-free DNA

OBJECTIVE

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most lethal malignancies worldwide with poor prognosis due to the high incidence of recurrence. For patients with advanced HCC, transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) is the preferred treatment option owing to the minimal invasive clinical treatment with optimum therapeutic outcomes. But, there is a paucity of studies on early detection of residual cancer and relapse that result in the bottleneck of long-term effects after TACE therapy.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Using next-generation sequencing platform targeting a panel of 622 cancer-associated genes, we prospectively evaluated the predictive significance of plasma cell-free DNA (cfDNA) to detect minimal residual disease in plasma cfDNA in comparison with DNA obtained from tumor tissue and blood cells of three eligible cases with HCC following TACE therapy.

RESULTS

The results indicated that the mutational spectrum from plasma cfDNA was consistent with tumor-derived DNA and potentially suggested disease progression. Next, we determined if the dynamic variation of plasma cfDNA could indicate treatment response, the findings suggested that the mutation burden of plasma cfDNA could reveal relapse before alterations in conventional computed tomography imaging and serum α-fetoprotein values.

CONCLUSION

The mutation burden in plasma cfDNA may serve as a novel prognostic biomarker by providing early evidence of residual disease and identifying high risk of recurrence in patients with HCC following TACE therapy.