Clinical features of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma treated with radiofrequency ablation therapy: developing a simple score to determine the need for immune-adjuvant therapy

Fujimasa Tada; Atsushi Hiraoka; Kosuke Nakatani; Kana Matsuoka; Mai Fukumoto; Takuya Matsuda; Emi Yanagihara; Hironobu Saneto; Taisei Murakami; Kei Onishi; Hirofumi Izumoto; Shogo Kitahata; Kozue Kanemitsu-Okada; Tomoe Kawamura; Taira Kuroda; Jun Hanaoka; Jota Watanabe; Hiromi Ohtani; Osamu Yoshida; Masashi Hirooka; Hideki Miyata; Eiji Tsubouchi; Masanori Abe; Bunzo Matsuura; Tomoyuki Ninomiya; Yoichi Hiasa

doi:10.1007/s12328-024-01938-7

Clinical features of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma treated with radiofrequency ablation therapy: developing a simple score to determine the need for immune-adjuvant therapy

Clin J Gastroenterol. 2024 Mar 26. doi: 10.1007/s12328-024-01938-7. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Fujimasa Tada¹, Atsushi Hiraoka², Kosuke Nakatani¹, Kana Matsuoka¹, Mai Fukumoto¹, Takuya Matsuda¹, Emi Yanagihara¹, Hironobu Saneto¹, Taisei Murakami¹, Kei Onishi¹, Hirofumi Izumoto¹, Shogo Kitahata¹, Kozue Kanemitsu-Okada¹, Tomoe Kawamura¹, Taira Kuroda¹, Jun Hanaoka³, Jota Watanabe³, Hiromi Ohtani³, Osamu Yoshida⁴, Masashi Hirooka⁴, Hideki Miyata¹, Eiji Tsubouchi¹, Masanori Abe⁴, Bunzo Matsuura⁴, Tomoyuki Ninomiya¹, Yoichi Hiasa⁴

Affiliations

¹ Gastroenterology Center, Ehime Prefectural Central Hospital, 83 Kasuga-Cho, Matsuyama, Ehime, 790-0024, Japan.
² Gastroenterology Center, Ehime Prefectural Central Hospital, 83 Kasuga-Cho, Matsuyama, Ehime, 790-0024, Japan. hirage@m.ehime-u.ac.jp.
³ Department of Surgery, Gastroenterology Center, Ehime Prefectural Central Hospital, Matsuyama, Japan.
⁴ Department of Gastroenterology and Metabology, Ehime University Graduate School of Medicine, Toon, Japan.

PMID: 38528198
DOI: 10.1007/s12328-024-01938-7

Abstract

Background/aim: Unresectable recurrence after curative treatments for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a life-limited event. Although the IMbrave050 trial (IM050) showed a favorable reduction in recurrence with adjuvant immune-combination chemotherapy, inclusion criteria of the radiofrequency ablation (RFA) group were lower risk than that of the resection group. This study aimed to elucidate the clinical features of patients treated with RFA, which really need adjuvant-chemotherapy.

Methods: From 2000 to 2022, 528 patients with Child-Pugh A and HCC within the Milan criteria (MC), who met the IM050 criteria for RFA and undergone resection or RFA, were enrolled (71 years, HCV:HBV:HBV/HCV:alcohol:others = 337:44:5:53:89, multi-tumor = 138, RFA:resection = 309:219). Unresectable recurrence was defined as beyond the MC. Risk factors for recurrence beyond the MC were retrospectively evaluated.

Results: Multivariate Cox-hazard analysis showed HCV-positive (HR 1.49), AFP-L3 > 10% (HR 1.75), and DCP > 100 mAU/mL (HR1.80) as significant prognostic factors for recurrence beyond the MC (each P < 0.05). Summing of positive factors (1 point for each) was used for scoring (AD-ON score), which showed increased positive rates for micro-hepatic vein invasion (score 0:1:2:3 = 0%:1.1%:6.6%:15.8%), micro-portal vein invasion (0:1:2:3 = 2.0%:12.1%:14.1%:31.6%), and poor differentiation (0:1:2:3 = 6.0%:6.7%:15.3%:15.8%) in the resection group associated with a greater score (each P < 0.01). In patients treated with RFA, those with greater AD-ON scores showed shorter time to recurrence beyond the MC, recurrence-free time, and overall survival (score 0:1:2:3 = no-estimation:97:66:23 months, 35:27:20:12 months, and 91:82:67:52 months, respectively, each P < 0.05).

Conclusion: HCC patients treated by RFA and with a high AD-ON score (≧2) should be considered for aggressive adjuvant-chemotherapy to prolong the period of recurrence beyond the MC.

Keywords: Adjuvant therapy; Atezolizumab plus bevacizumab; Hepatocellular carcinoma; IMbrave050; Radiofrequency ablation.