Treatment Beyond Progression After Anti-PD-1 Blockade in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Abstract

Immune checkpoint inhibitors can induce atypical tumor responses including pseudo-progression in a subset of patients who may benefit from treatment beyond progression. While immune checkpoint inhibitors have emerged as frontline treatments for hepatocellular carcinoma and are associated with clinical benefit in a minority of patients, it is unclear whether treatment beyond progression has utility in this disease type. In a multicenter cohort analysis, treatment beyond progression was associated with no new safety signals, objective responses in 4.9% of patients, and disease control in 39% of patients. Progression-free survival and overall survival were comparable between patients treated beyond progression and patients treated with subsequent therapies, demonstrating that treatment beyond progression was not detrimental to survival outcomes. Rather, treatment beyond progression may benefit select patients with HCC and could represent a viable strategy for maximizing treatment benefit in these patients.