A Phase II Randomized Dose Escalation Trial of Sorafenib in Patients With Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Background. Sorafenib has proven survival benefits in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The viability of continuing sorafenib at a higher dosage in patients who experienced radiologic disease progression was investigated. Methods. Patients who experienced disease progression while on sorafenib 400 mg twice daily were randomized to sorafenib 600 mg twice daily (n = 49) or best supportive care (n = 52). The primary end point was progression-free survival (PFS). Time to progression, overall survival, and safety were also evaluated. Results. The study did not meet its primary end point. The difference in PFS between the sorafenib arm (3.91 months) and the best supportive care arm (2.69 months) did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.086). Adverse events were mainly grade 1-2 and similar across both groups. In the sorafenib arm, the most frequent events were diarrhea (80%), weight loss (75%), fatigue (67%), hand-foot-skin reaction (49%), abdominal pain (37%), and stomatitis (26%). Conclusions. Escalated-dose sorafenib in patients with advanced HCC who progressed while on sorafenib, failed to provide any clinical benefit. Second-line treatment still remains an open issue to be explored in appropriate clinical trials. The Oncologist 2013;18:379-38

Sorafenib in patients with Child-Pugh class A and B advanced hepatocellular carcinoma: a prospective feasibility analysis.

Background: Sorafenib has shown survival benefits in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and Child-Pugh (CP) class A liver function. There are few prospective data on sorafenib in patients with HCC and CP class B. Patients and methods: A consecutive prospective series of 300 patients with CP class A or B HCC were enrolled in a dual-phase trial to determine survival and safety data according to liver function (class A or B) in patients receiving oral sorafenib 800 mg daily. [Results of this study were presented in part at the ASCO 2012 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium, 19-21 January 2012. J Clin Oncol 2012; 30 (Suppl 4): abstract 306.]. Results: Overall progression-free survival (PFS), time to progression (TTP) and overall survival (OS) were 3.9, 4.1 and 9.1 months, respectively. For patients with CP class A versus B status, PFS was 4.3 versus 2.1 months, TTP was 4.2 versus 3.8 months and OS was 10.0 versus 3. 8 months. Extrahepatic spread was associated with worse outcomes but taken together with CP class, liver function played a greater role in reducing survival. Adverse events for the two CP groups were similar. Conclusion: Although patients with HCC and CP class B liver function have poorer outcomes than those with CP class A function, data suggest that patients with CP class B liver function can tolerate treatment and may still benefit from sorafenib. © The Author 2012. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society for Medical Oncology. All rights reserved