Tansarterial chemoembolization combined with apatinib plus camrelizumab for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma: effectiveness and safety

Objective To investigate the effectiveness and safety of transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) combined with apatinib plus camrelizumab (TACE-Cam-Apa) versus TACE combined with apatinib (TACE-Apa) in the treatment of patients with middle and advanced stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods A total of 76 HCC patients in middle and advanced stages who were admitted to the Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University from July 2019 to December 2021 were enrolled, including 37 patients in a TACE-Cam-Apa group and 39 patients in a TACE-Apa group. Both groups were compared for short-term effectiveness, long-term survival and adverse reactions. Survival analysis was performed using the Kaplan-Meier method. Results Patients in the TACE-Cam-Apa group showed prolonged mean overall survival (13.7 vs. 10.6 months, P=0.046), longer mean progression-free survival (7.9 vs. 5.1 months,P=0.008) as well as higher objective response rate (40.5% vs. 17.9%, P=0.008) and disease control rate (64.9% vs. 43.6%, P=0.030) than the TACE-Apa group. There were no statistical differences between two groups in the total incidence of adverse events (89.2% vs. 92.3%,P=0.638) and the incidence of grade 3-4 adverse events (21.6% vs.15.4%, P=0.483). Conclusions Compared with TACE-Apa, TACE-Cam-Apa can significantly improve the clinical effectiveness of patients with middle and advanced stage HCC, with good safety.