Chemotherapy for Primary Liver Cancer: Recent Updates and Future Perspectives

A special issue of Cancers (ISSN 2072-6694). This special issue belongs to the section "Cancer Therapy".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 May 2024) | Viewed by 2555

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Hepatology, Osaka Metropolitan University Graduate School of Medicine, 1-4-3 Asahimachi, Abeno-ku, Osaka 545-8585, Japan
Interests: hepatocellular carcinoma; liver cancer; cholangiocarcinoma

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Worldwide, primary liver cancer is the sixth most common type of cancer and the third most common cause of death, with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) accounting for approximately 80% and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (CC) approximately 15% of histological types.

Systemic drug therapy for unresectable HCC has changed significantly since the approval of the multi-kinase inhibitor sorafenib. In 2017–2018, four drugs (regorafenib, lenvatinib, cabozantinib and ramucirumab) were approved. In 2020, the first immunotherapy for liver cancer, atezolizumab, a programmed death ligand 1 inhibitor (in combination with the VEGF inhibitor bevacizumab), was approved.

Intrahepatic CC has long been the first-line treatment for cytotoxic chemotherapy, especially the combination of gemcitabine and cisplatin, since 2010; in 2022, a regimen adding immunotherapy (durvalumab) to these two drugs was approved.  For cases with mutations in the driver genes of the disease (fibroblast growth factor receptor 1/2/3, isocitrate dehydrogenase 1/2, neurotrophic tyrosine receptor kinase A/B/C etc.), we have precision medicine available to target these as second-line therapy.

Treatment options for HCC and intrahepatic CC have increased, and long-term survival has been achieved. On the other hand, countermeasures against immune-related adverse events have become necessary. We expect to further improve therapeutic outcomes by understanding that hepatocellular carcinoma has a variety of cellular origins and tumor microenvironments.

We invite you to contribute to this Special Issue on "Chemotherapy for Primary Liver Cancer: Recent Updates and Future Perspectives". The purpose of this Special Issue is to collect articles highlighting recent advances in this theme. Original research articles and reviews are welcome in this Special Issue.  Areas of research may include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Diagnosis of chemotherapy efficacy (including biomarkers and imaging techniques);
  • Combination of locoregional therapy (transcatheter arterial chemoembolization or hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy) and systemic drug therapy.

I look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Etsushi Kawamura
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • primary liver cancer
  • hepatocellular carcinoma
  • cholangiocarcinoma
  • cholangiocellular carcinoma
  • hepatobiliary cancer
  • bile duct cancer

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 2400 KiB  
Article
Prediction of Efficacy for Atezolizumab/Bevacizumab in Unresectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma with Hepatobiliary-Phase Gadolinium Ethoxybenzyl-Diethylenetriaminepentaacetic Acid MRI
by Hideki Kunichika, Kiyoyuki Minamiguchi, Tetsuya Tachiiri, Kozo Shimizu, Ryosuke Taiji, Aya Yamada, Ryota Nakano, Mariko Irizato, Satoshi Yamauchi, Aki Marugami, Nagaaki Marugami, Hayato Kishida, Hiroyuki Nakagawa, Megumi Takewa, Ken Kageyama, Akira Yamamoto, Eisuke Ueshima, Keitaro Sofue, Ryuichi Kita, Hiroyuki Kurakami and Toshihiro Tanakaadd Show full author list remove Hide full author list
Cancers 2024, 16(12), 2275; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers16122275 - 19 Jun 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 874
Abstract
Background: This study aimed to examine whether the coefficient of variation (CV) in the hepatobiliary-phase (HBP) of Gd-EOB-DTPA-MRI could be an independent predictive factor for tumor progression. Methods: Patients who underwent Gd-EOB-DTPA-MRI before Atezolizumab/bevacizumab therapy at six affiliated institutions between 2018 and 2022 [...] Read more.
Background: This study aimed to examine whether the coefficient of variation (CV) in the hepatobiliary-phase (HBP) of Gd-EOB-DTPA-MRI could be an independent predictive factor for tumor progression. Methods: Patients who underwent Gd-EOB-DTPA-MRI before Atezolizumab/bevacizumab therapy at six affiliated institutions between 2018 and 2022 were included. CV for each patient was calculated as the mean value for up to five tumors larger than 10 mm, and CV of the whole tumor was calculated using LIFEx software. The tumor response was evaluated within 6–10 weeks. The primary endpoint was to investigate the predictive factors, including CV, related to tumor progression using logistic regression analysis. The secondary endpoints were tumor response rate and progression-free survival (PFS) based on CV. Results: Of the 46 enrolled patients, 13 (28.3%) underwent early progressive disease. Multivariate analysis revealed that a high CV (≥0.22) was an independent predictive factor for tumor progression (p = 0.043). Patients with a high CV had significantly frequent PD than those with a low CV (43.5 vs. 13.0%, p = 0.047). Patients with a high CV tended to have shorter PFS than those with a low CV (3.5 vs. 6.7 months, p = 0.071). Conclusion: Quantitative analysis using CV in the HBP of Gd-EOB-DTPA-MRI may be useful for predicting tumor progression for atezolizumab/bevacizumab therapy. Full article
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13 pages, 1599 KiB  
Article
Prognostic Significance of C-Reactive Protein in Lenvatinib-Treated Unresectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Multi-Institutional Study
by Taiki Okumura, Takefumi Kimura, Takanobu Iwadare, Shun-ichi Wakabayashi, Hiroyuki Kobayashi, Yuki Yamashita, Ayumi Sugiura, Satoru Joshita, Naoyuki Fujimori, Hideo Kunimoto, Michiharu Komatsu, Hideki Fukushima, Hiromitsu Mori and Takeji Umemura
Cancers 2023, 15(22), 5343; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers15225343 - 9 Nov 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1304
Abstract
Background: Serum C-reactive protein (CRP) is an established biomarker for acute inflammation and has been identified as a prognostic indicator for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the significance of the serum CRP level, specifically in HCC patients treated with lenvatinib, remains unclear. Methods: We [...] Read more.
Background: Serum C-reactive protein (CRP) is an established biomarker for acute inflammation and has been identified as a prognostic indicator for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the significance of the serum CRP level, specifically in HCC patients treated with lenvatinib, remains unclear. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 125 HCC patients who received lenvatinib treatment at six centers. Clinical characteristics were assessed to identify clinical associations between serum CRP and HCC prognosis. Results: The median overall serum CRP level was 0.29 mg/dL. The cohort was divided into two groups: the low-CRP group with a serum CRP < 0.5 mg/dL and the high-CRP group with a serum CRP ≥ 0.5 mg/dL. The low-CRP group exhibited significantly longer overall survival (OS) than the high-CRP group (22.9 vs. 7.8 months, p < 0.001). No significant difference was observed for progression-free survival (PFS) between the high- and low-CRP groups (9.8 vs. 8.4 months, p = 0.411), while time-to-treatment failure (TTF) was significantly longer in the low-CRP group (8.5 vs. 4.4 months, p = 0.007). The discontinuation rate due to poor performance status was significantly higher in the high-CRP group (p < 0.001). Conclusion: A baseline serum CRP level exceeding 0.5 mg/dL was identified as an unfavorable prognostic factor in HCC patients receiving lenvatinib treatment. Full article
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