TITLE:
Better Management of Adverse Events Favors Sorafenib Treatment of HCC Patients and Impact on Survival
AUTHORS:
Regiane S. S. M. Alencar, Luciana Kikuchi, Cláudia M. Tani, Aline L. Chagas, Cinira C. Camargo, Túlio E. F. Pfiffer, Paulo M. G. Hoff, Flair J. Carrilho
KEYWORDS:
Management of Adverse Event, Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Sorafenib Therapy, Predictors of Overall Survival, Dermatologic Adverse Event
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Cancer Therapy,
Vol.7 No.4,
April
22,
2016
ABSTRACT: Introduction: Sorafenib is an orally active multikinase inhibitor
approved for the treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and is
the only systemic treatment associated with a survival benefit in advanced
stage. The aims of this study were to evaluate the tolerance and survival of
sorafenib-treated patients, and to identify potential prognostic factors of
survival. Methods: A total of 88 HCC patients treated with sorafenib from June
2010 to January 2014 were retrospectively reviewed. Tumour stage, liver
function and adverse events to sorafenib were analyzed. Univariate and
multivariate analysis were carried out to identify predictors of survival in
patients with advanced HCC treated with sorafenib. Results: There were 64 (73%)
males included in this study, with a median age of 61.16 years. Eight (91%)
patients had Child-Pugh class A cirrhosis. Most patients were classified as
BCLC C (82%). Hepatitis C virus was the predominant cause of HCC (68%).
Sorafenib was the initial treatment modality in 43%. Median time of sorafenib
therapy was 8.23 months. Overall survival in 1 year was 57.3% and 36.7% in 2
years. The median survival was 16.3 months. In the univariate analysis of the
OS based on Child-Pugh score did not demonstrate a significant difference in
our study (p = 0.62). The presence of dermatologic adverse event predicted a
better overall survival in the multivariate analysis. Better survival was also
observed in patients with AFP level Even in the
presence of adverse events, the use of sorafenib should be continued because
the longer usage time improves survival.