Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2017 Jun;23(2):128-137.
doi: 10.3350/cmh.2016.0071. Epub 2017 May 10.

A comparative study of sorafenib and metronomic chemotherapy for Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer-stage C hepatocellular carcinoma with poor liver function

Hyun Yang  1 , Hyun Young Woo  2 , Soon Kyu Lee  1 , Ji Won Han  1 , Bohyun Jang  1 , Hee Chul Nam  1 , Hae Lim Lee  1 , Sung Won Lee  1 , Do Seon Song  1 , Myeong Jun Song  1 , Jung Suk Oh  3 , Ho Jong Chun  3 , Jeong Won Jang  1 , Angelo Lozada  4 , Si Hyun Bae  1 , Jong Young Choi  1 , Seung Kew Yoon  1
Affiliations
Comparative Study

A comparative study of sorafenib and metronomic chemotherapy for Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer-stage C hepatocellular carcinoma with poor liver function

Hyun Yang et al. Clin Mol Hepatol. 2017 Jun.

Abstract

Background/aims: Metronomic chemotherapy (MET) is frequently administered in comparatively low doses as a continuous chemotherapeutic agent. The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and overall survival (OS) of MET compared to sorafenib for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients with portal vein tumor thrombosis (PVTT).

Methods: A total of 54 patients with advanced HCC and PVTT who had undergone MET were analyzed between 2005 and 2013. A total of 53 patients who had undergone sorafenib therapy were analyzed as the control group. The primary endpoint of this study was OS.

Results: The median number of MET cycles was two (1-15). The OS values for the MET group and sorafenib group were 158 days (132-184) and 117 days (92-142), respectively (P=0.029). The Cox proportional-hazard model showed that a higher risk of death was correlated with higher serum alpha fetoprotein level (≥400 mg/dL, hazard ratio [HR]=1.680, P=0.014) and Child-Pugh class B (HR=1.856, P=0.008).

Conclusions: MET was associated with more favorable outcomes in terms of overall survival than was sorafenib in patients with advanced HCC with PVTT, especially in patients with poor liver function. Therefore, MET can be considered as a treatment option in patients with advanced HCC with PVTT and poor liver function.

Keywords: Administration, Metronomic; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular; Portal vein; Sorafenib; Thrombosis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest:The authors have no conflicts to disclose.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Flow diagram of the study design. MET, metronomic chemotherapy; PVTT, portal vein tumor thrombosis.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Metronomic chemotherapy protocol.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Overall survival rates according to treatment group. MET, metronomic chemotherapy.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Overall survival rates according to treatment group in patients with Child-Pugh class B. MET, metronomic chemotherapy.
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
Overall survival rates according to treatment group in naïve patients. MET, metronomic chemotherapy.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

References

    1. Torre LA, Bray F, Siegel RL, Ferlay J, Lortet-Tieulent J, Jemal A. Global cancer statistics, 2012. CA Cancer J Clin. 2015;65:87–108. - PubMed
    1. Cheng AL, Kang YK, Chen Z, Tsao CJ, Qin S, Kim JS, et al. Efficacy and safety of sorafenib in patients in the Asia-Pacific region with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma: a phase III randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Lancet Oncol. 2009;10:25–34. - PubMed
    1. Llovet JM, Brú C, Bruix J. Prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma: the BCLC staging classification. Semin Liver Dis. 1999;19:329–338. - PubMed
    1. Llovet JM, Burroughs A, Bruix J. Hepatocellular carcinoma. Lancet. 2003;362:1907–1917. - PubMed
    1. Llovet JM, Ricci S, Mazzaferro V, Hilgard P, Gane E, Blanc JF, et al. Sorafenib in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. N Engl J Med. 2008;359:378–390. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources