Efficacy and safety of donafenib combined with anti-PD-1 antibodies for initially unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC): A retrospective real-world study.

Abstract

e16131 Background: Given its clear efficacy and high safety demonstrated in the phase 3 ZGDH3 study, donafenib has been recommended by the Chinese guidelines for the first-line treatment of unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (uHCC). Recently, combination therapies have shown favorable results. However, the clinical experience of donafenib combined with anti-PD-1 therapy for uHCC has not yet been investigated. Thus, we aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of donafenib combined with anti-PD-1 antibody in the treatment of uHCC. Methods: A single-center, retrospective study was performed based on the medical records of consecutive patients diagnosed with HCC who were not suitable for curative surgery at Hunan Provincial People's Hospital from July 2021 to September 2023. Patient with ≥18 years, no prior systemic therapy, having at least one measurable lesion (per mRECIST) were enrolled. Patients were treated with donafenib and anti-PD-1 antibodies until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity, local treatment such as TACE, HAIC or ablation were allowed. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS) by mRecist criteria, and secondary endpoints included overall survival (OS), objective response rate (ORR) and disease control rate (DCR) by mRecist criteria, and safety. The last follow-up time was December 15, 2023. Results: In total, 48 patients were enrolled: 87.5% males, median age 59.5 years (range, 32.0-78.0), 95.8% ECOG of 0, 68.8% HBV positive, 14.6% BCLC stage B, 75.0% BCLC stage C, 47.9% baseline AFP≥400 ng/mL, 70.8% with macrovascular invasion. Among them, 9 patients (18.8%) received donafenib combined with anti-PD-1 antibody as first-line treatment, 37 (77.1%) with concurrent TACE(n = 25) or HAIC(n = 6) or both as treatment(n = 6), 2 (4.2%) received ablation treatment. At the time of data cut-off, the median follow-up time was 10.0 months (95% CI, 6.37-12.2). Considering efficacy, 9 pts (18.7%) achieved complete response, 20 (41.7%) achieved partial response, 17 (35.4%) had stable disease, and 2(4.2%) had progressive disease. The ORR and DCR were 60.4% and 95.8% by mRecist, respectively. Median progression-free survival was 15.8 months (95% CI, 8.9-NA). Median overall survival was not reached, 12-month OS rate were 90.7% (95% CI:73.7%-96.9%). In terms of safety, 44 pts (91.7%) had TRAEs. The incidence of ≥grade 3 TRAEs was 33.3% (16/48). Common TRAEs included elevated AST(45.8%), hand-foot syndrome (39.6%), decreased platelet count(35.4%),elevated ALT(31.2%), rash (25.0%) and decreased white blood cell count (14.6%). Grade 3/4 TRAEs included elevated AST(10.4%), elevated ALT(8.3%), rash(8.3%) and hand-foot syndrome (8.3%). No grade 5 TRAEs were observed. Conclusions: Donafenib combined with anti-PD-1 antibodies shows promising efficacy and manageable toxicity in patients with initially uHCC.