1.Efficacy and safety of camrelizumab monoclonal antibody combined with molecular-targeted therapy in elderly patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma
Long CHENG ; Yue ZHANG ; Yushen LIU ; Zhaoqing DU ; Zhaoyang GUO ; Yangwei FAN ; Ting LI ; Xu GAO ; Enrui XIE ; Zixuan XING ; Wenhua WU ; Yinying WU ; Mingbo YANG ; Jie LI ; Yu ZHANG ; Wen KANG ; Wenjun WANG ; Fanpu JI ; Jiang GUO ; Ning GAO
Journal of Clinical Hepatology 2024;40(10):2034-2041
Objective To investigate the efficacy and safety of camrelizumab monoclonal antibody combined with molecular-targeted therapy in elderly patients with unresectable or advanced hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC).Methods A retrospective analysis was performed for the patients with unresectable/advanced HCC who attended six hospitals from January 1,2019 to March 31,2021,and all patients received camrelizumab monoclonal antibody treatment,among whom 84.8%also received targeted therapy.According to the age of the patients,they were divided into elderly group(≥65 years)and non-elderly group(<65 years).The two groups were assessed in terms of overall survival(OS),progression-free survival(PFS),objective response rate(ORR),disease control rate(DCR),and immune-related adverse events(irAE).The chi-square test or the Fisher's exact test was used for comparison of categorical data between groups;the independent samples t-test was used for comparison of normally distributed continuous data,and the Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparison of non-normally distributed continuous data between two groups.The Kaplan-Meier method was used for survival analysis,and the log-rank test was used for comparison of survival curves.Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analyses were used to determine the independent influencing factors for PFS and DCR at 6 months.Results A total of 99 HCC patients were enrolled,with 27 in the elderly group and 72 in the non-elderly group.The elderly group had an OS rate of 67.8%,an ORR of 44.4%,and a DCR of 74.1%at 12 months and a median PFS of 6.4(95%confidence interval[CI]:3.0-12.4)months,with no significant differences compared with the non-elderly group(all P>0.05).The median OS was unavailable for the elderly group,while the non-elderly group had an OS of 18.9(95%CI:13.0-24.8)months;there was no significant difference between the two groups(P=0.485).The univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses showed that major vascular invasion(MVI)was an independent risk factor for PFS(hazard ratio[HR]=2.603,95%CI:1.136-5.964,P=0.024)and DCR(HR=3.963,95%CI:1.671-9.397,P=0.002)at 6 months,while age,sex,etiology of HBV infection,presence of extrahepatic metastasis,Child-Pugh class B,and alpha-fetoprotein>400 ng/mL were not associated with PFS or DCR at 6 months.For the elderly group,the incidence rates of any irAE and grade 3/4 irAE were 51.9%and 25.9%,respectively,with no significant differences compared with the non-elderly group(P>0.05),and skin disease was the most common irAE in both groups(39.4%).Conclusion Camrelizumab monoclonal antibody combined with molecular-targeted therapy has similar efficacy and safety in patients with unresectable/advanced HCC aged≥65 years and those aged<65 years.MVI is associated with suboptimal response to immunotherapy and poor prognosis.