Atezolizumab and Bevacizumab in Therapy for Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Real Clinical Practice

Abstract

Randomized clinical trials and actual clinical practice differsignificantly. Evidence-based medicine develops new agents referring to, primarily, pharmaceutical findings, preclinical studies and, most importantly, randomized clinical trials. Hepatocellular carcinoma is the most common primary malignancy of the liver, and one of the main causes of fatal outcomes among cancer patients worldwide, including in the Asia-Pacific region, with an estimated 800,000 deaths annually. For more than 10 years, sorafenib, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, was the only authorized treatment for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. The next stage in the development of drug therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma involved immune checkpoint inhibitors. The combination of atezolizumab with bevacizumab in the phase III trial (IMbrave150) improved outcomes of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma, such as overall survival and progression-free survival (6.8 versus 4.3). The paper presents the trials of atezolizumab and bevacizumab combination, demonstrates comparable data on the treatment of patients with HCC in real clinical practice and data on the phase III IMbrave150. To further analyze the efficacy of the combination of atezolizumab and bevacizumab, prospective clinical trials should include heterogeneous patient groups.