Eligibility for second-line therapy in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (aHCC): A BC Cancer population-based study.

Abstract

491 Background: Evidence supporting second-line therapies has become available for aHCC, including regorafenib, cabozantinib, ramucirumab, and nivolumab. The optimal second-line treatment regimen is unknown, and there remains limited real-world data about the eligibility of patients for second-line therapies in aHCC. We aimed to characterize the real-world eligibility and use of second-line therapies post sorafenib. Methods: We identified all patients with aHCC who received ≥1 cycle of first-line sorafenib between January 1, 2014 and December 31, 2017 across 6 centers in British Columbia (BC), Canada. All patients were required to be Child-Pugh class A for initiation of sorafenib in BC. Baseline characteristics and clinical outcomes were reviewed. Eligibility for second-line therapy was determined using the RESORCE and CELESTIAL study entry criteria. Results: Of 144 patients with advanced HCC who received ≥1 cycle of first-line sorafenib, median age was 65.3 years (range 32.2-83.4) and 85% were male. Median duration of sorafenib was 2.6 months. 12 patients (8%) went on to receive second-line treatment. 37 patients (26%) were deemed eligible for second-line systemic therapy. Primary reasons for ineligibility included ECOG ≥2 (58%), and deterioration to Child-Pugh status B (28%). On Cox regression, improved survival was associated with better ECOG and recurrent disease. (Table). Kaplan-Meier analysis demonstrated that eligibility for second-line treatment was associated with improved median overall survival from end of first-line treatment (8.5 vs. 5.1 months; p<0.01). Conclusions: Only a minority of real-world patients with aHCC were eligible for second-line therapies based on second-line trial criteria. Given the high-rate of attrition, improved first-line treatment options are urgently needed. [Table: see text]