Efficacy of sorafenib therapy in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma in Indian population

Abstract

Aim: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fourth most common type of cancer and the third leading cause of cancer-related mortality. Sorafenib is an oral multikinase inhibitor that is used for unresectable advanced HCC. It is only approved systemic therapy for advanced HCC. Methods: A retrospective prospective study conducted in a multispeciality hospital with 50 patients who received sorafenib. The primary outcome of the study was to find out the survival rate of patients treated with sorafenib. The secondary outcome of the study was to explore the efficacy and safety of sorafenib in a progression of HCC. Results: The median overall survival in the Indian population was found as 114 days (3.8 months) after sorafenib therapy. The efficacy of the drug sorafenib was assessed by the survival days which were based on the changes in laboratory values such as haematological and clinical biochemistry. The adverse drug reaction documented in this study was vomiting, abdominal pain; fatigue; anorexia; hyperbilirubinemia; diarrhoea; hand-foot syndrome; rash; rectal bleeding; insomnia; constipation; thrombocytopenia and abdominal discomfort. Conclusion: Sorafenib improves the overall survival of the patients with advanced HCC in Indian population up to 3.8 months. It is a safe and effective treatment for patients with advanced HCC in Indian population. The survival of patients was found to be depended on the liver function.

Cost-effectiveness of Sorafenib for Treatment of Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma in India

“…15 Second, all our costing parameters were derived based on Indian studies. 14,20,29,30 Third, we also assessed the cost in the BSC arm for all supportive services, life -threatening disabilities requiring hospitalization and end-of-life care as given in the standard treatment guidelines, 16,17 besides expert opinions. Hence, the BSC arm in our study was appropriately costed for and not merely considered to be a home-based care or an equivalent of no treatment, giving a fair comparator to sorafenib for cost-effectiveness.…”