Background/aims: We previously reported that combination therapy comprising hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy (HAIC) with 3 drugs, namely, cisplatin (CDDP), 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) (low-dose FP) and isovorin and interferon (IFN)-α-2b was not beneficial for patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In this study, we investigated the efficacy of combination therapy comprising HAIC and pegylated interferon (PEG-IFN)-α-2b in advanced HCC patients by comparing our results with previous data.
Methodology: From a total of 29 patients, 12 received HAIC and PEGIFN- α-2b (PEG-IFN group) and 17 received HAIC and IFN-α-2b (IFN group). There were no significant differences in clinical characteristics between the 2 groups.
Results: The response rate was 33.3% (complete response (CR)=1; partial response (PR)=3) in the PEGIFN group and 47.1% (PR=8) in the IFN group. The 1-, 2- and 3-year cumulative survival rates were 50%, 25% and 8%, respectively, in the PEG-IFN group, whereas they were 53%, 18% and 12%, respectively, in the IFN group. There were no significant differences in the response rate (p=0.251) and survival (p=0.938) between the two groups.
Conclusions: We found that combination therapy comprising HAIC using low-dose FP with isovorin and PEG-IFN-α-2b was not beneficial for advanced HCC.