Efficacy of Lenvatinib and Sorafenib in the Real-World First-Line Treatment of Advanced-Stage Hepatocellular Carcinoma in a Taiwanese Population

Shou-Wu Lee; Sheng-Shun Yang; Han-Chung Lien; Yen-Chun Peng; Chung-Wang Ko; Teng-Yu Lee

doi:10.3390/jcm11051444

Efficacy of Lenvatinib and Sorafenib in the Real-World First-Line Treatment of Advanced-Stage Hepatocellular Carcinoma in a Taiwanese Population

J Clin Med. 2022 Mar 6;11(5):1444. doi: 10.3390/jcm11051444.

Authors

Shou-Wu Lee^{1

2

3

4}, Sheng-Shun Yang^{1

2

3

5

6}, Han-Chung Lien^{1

3

4}, Yen-Chun Peng^{1

3}, Chung-Wang Ko^{1

3}, Teng-Yu Lee^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung 40705, Taiwan.
² Department of Internal Medicine, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung 40201, Taiwan.
³ Department of Internal Medicine, Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei 112304, Taiwan.
⁴ Department of Post-Baccalaureate Medicine, College of Medicine, Chung Hsing University, Taichung 40227, Taiwan.
⁵ Ph.D. Program in Translational Medicine, Chung Hsing University, Taichung 40227, Taiwan.
⁶ Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Chung Hsing University, Taichung 40227, Taiwan.

Abstract

Aim: Currently, atezolizumab combined with bevacizumab is the standard first-line treatment for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but lenvatinib or sorafenib are still recommended for these patients for some reasons. The aim of the study was to determine the outcomes of Taiwanese patients with advanced-stage HCC who received lenvatinib or sorafenib.

Methods: Data on patients with BCLC stage C HCC who were receiving lenvatinib or sorafenib as the first-line therapy from May 2018 to August 2020 was collected. The individuals with lenvatinib and sorafenib were propensity score-matched at a ratio of 1:2.

Results: A total of 22 patients with lenvatinib and 44 patients with sorafenib were enrolled. The ORR (36.4% vs. 11.4%, p = 0.023) and DCR (81.9% vs. 56.9%, p = 0.039) were both higher in the lenvatinib group compared with the sorafenib group. The median overall survival (OS) of the lenvatinib group and the sorafenib group was 9.36 months and 8.36 months, respectively. The best median OS was detected in patients receiving lenvatinib and having an objective tumor response (11.29 months), with a significant difference (p = 0.031) compared with the other groups.

Conclusion: Lenvatinib, compared to sorafenib, had better ORR and DCR, but similar OS, in Taiwanese patients with advanced-stage HCC. The patients with an objective tumor response had a better OS.

Keywords: hepatocellular carcinoma; lenvatinib; sorafenib.