Efficacy and safety of TACE in combination with sorafenib for the treatment of TACE-refractory advanced hepatocellular carcinoma in Chinese patients: a retrospective study

Figures & data

Table 1 Patient demographics and clinical characteristics

Characteristics	TACE + SOR n=30	TACE n=31	P-value
Gender (male), n (%)	25 (83.33)	28 (90.32)	0.419
Age, n (%)			0.900
>50 years	15 (50)	15 (48.39)
<50 years	15 (50)	16 (51.61)
Histology of HCC, n (%)	11 (36.67)	5 (16.63)	0.068
Cirrhosis	8 (26.67)	13 (41.94)	0.210
Child–Pugh class, n (%)			0.142
A	28 (93.33)	25 (80.65)
B	2 (6.67)	6 (19.35)
ECOG-PS, n (%)			0.806
1	24 (80)	24 (77.42)
2	6 (20)	7 (22.58)
BCLC stage C, n			0.495
Vascular invasion	13	19
Extrahepatic spread	19	20
AFP, n (%)			0.375
<400 ng/mL	14 (46.67)	11 (35.48)
>400 ng/mL	16 (53.33)	20 (64.52)
Hepatitis, n (%)	27 (90)	30 (96.77)	0.285
Number of previous TACE, n (%)
<2	22 (73.33)	22 (70.97)	0.837
>2	8 (26.67)	9 (29.03)

Abbreviations: TACE, transarterial chemoembolization; SOR, sorafenib; BCLC, Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer; ECOG-PS, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status; AFP, alpha-fetoprotein; HCC, hepatocellular carcinoma.

Figure 1 Kaplan–Meier analysis of OS for the TACE + SOR and TACE groups.

Note: A significant increase in OS is observed in the combined treatment group.
Abbreviations: TACE, transarterial chemoembolization; SOR, sorafenib; OS, overall survival.

Figure 2 Kaplan–Meier analysis of TTP for the TACE + SOR and TACE groups.

Note: A significantly longer TTP is observed in the combined treatment group.
Abbreviations: TACE, transarterial chemoembolization; SOR, sorafenib; TTP, time to progression.

Table 2 Univariate and multivariate analyses of prognostic factors affecting survival in TACE-refractory advanced HCC

Variables	Univariate Cox analysis			Multivariate Cox analysis
	Median OS (month)	95% CI	P-value	HR	95% CI	P-value
Gender
Male	11.37	9.059–13.681	0.44
Female	14.6	0.0–30.538
Age
>50 years	16.2	10.579–21.821	0.08	0.54	0.276–1.056	0.072
<50 years	9.6	7.296–11.904
Histology of HCC
Yes	14.9	12.506–17.294	0.112
No	9.6	6.992–12.208
Cirrhosis
Yes	13.53	6.583–20.477	0.865
No	11.37	9.469–13.271
Child–Pugh class
A	13.47	9.757–17.183	0.002	0.234	0.092–0.595	0.002
B	3.9	1.714–6.086
ECOG-PS
1	13.47	9.51–17.43	0.021	0.355	0.153–0.826	0.016
2	8.7	3.309–14.091
Cause of BCLC stage C
Vascular invasion	9.27	6.308–12.232	0.035	0.961	0.484–1.909	0.91
Extrahepatic spread	14.6	9.75–19.45
AFP
<400 ng/mL	17.9	8.722–27.078	0.006	0.349	0.177–0.689	0.002
>400 ng/mL	9.6	7.938–11.262
Diagnosis of hepatitis
Yes	11.8	8.454–15.146	0.914
No	9.27	0.677–17.865
Number of previous TACE
<2	11.1	7.509–14.691	0.075	1.548	0.773–3.099	0.217
>2	14.6	3.611–25.589
Treatment
TACE + SOR	17.9	11.101–24.699	0.000	0.151	0.071–0.322	0.000
TACE	7.1	4.343–9.857

Abbreviations: TACE, transarterial chemoembolization; SOR, sorafenib; BCLC, Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer; ECOG-PS, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status; AFP, alpha-fetoprotein; HCC, hepatocellular carcinoma; CI, confidence interval; HR, hazard ratio; OS, overall survival.