Efficacy and safety of sequential lenvatinib therapy after stereotactic body radiotherapy in treatment of advanced primary liver cancer

Abstract

Objective To investigate the efficacy and safety of sequential lenvatinib therapy after stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) in the treatment of advanced primary liver cancer. Methods A total of 18 patients with advanced primary liver cancer who were admitted to The Fifth Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital from October 2018 to May 2019 were enrolled, among whom there were 4 patients with BCLC stage B liver cancer and 14 patients with BCLC stage C liver cancer. The prescribed dose of planning target volume was 48-55 Gy (median 50 Gy) in 6-9 fractions, and the median of single dose was 6 (5-9) Gy per fraction. Oral administration of lenvatinib was given since 1 week after SBRT was finished, with a median medication time of 9.5 (3.6-25.8) months. Follow-up was performed once a month for the first 3 months after treatment and once every 3 months after 3 months of treatment. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate overall survival (OS) rate, progression-free survival (PFS) rate, and local control (LC) rate, and the incidence rates of adverse reactions and complications were also observed. Results Up to the follow-up on November 30, 2020, a total of 8 patients died, among whom 3 died of liver failure, 3 died due to tumor progression, 1 died of perforation of gallbladder, and 1 died of gastrointestinal bleeding. At 3, 6, 9, 12, and 18 months of treatment, the OS rates were 100%, 94%, 83%, 72%, and 67%, respectively, the PFS rates were 100%, 67%, 50%, 22%, and 17%, respectively, and the LC rates were 100%, 94%, 94%, 94%, and 94%, respectively; the median OS time was > 18 months, and the median PFS time was 9 months. Of all patients, 1 (6%) had a grade 3 adverse reaction during SBRT and 2 (11%) experienced a grade 3 adverse reaction during lenvatinib treatment, and no fatal adverse reaction was observed. Conclusion It is preliminarily proved that sequential lenvatinib therapy after SBRT is an effective and safe treatment method for advanced primary liver cancer.