Pathological response to TACE combined with molecular targeted therapy plus immune checkpoint inhibitors versus TACE alone in BCLC-B HCC:A retrospective study
CAO Shoujin
NIE Chunhui
WANG Baoquan
JI Kun
CHEN Shengqun
ZHU Tongyin
JING Li
WANG Hongliang
XIONG Bin
Abstract：Objective To explore the pathological response and its potential related factors in patients with BCLC stage B hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)who underwent transarterial chemoembolization(TACE)combined with molecular targeted therapy plus immune checkpoint inhibitors or TACE alone.Methods This retrospective study included 200 HCC patients(representing a total of 234 target lesions)who underwent surgical resection after receiving either TACE combined with molecular targeted therapy plus immune checkpoint inhibitors or TACE alone.This study was conducted at the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine from January 2020 to March 2024.The enrolled HCC target lesions were divided into two groups,the triple therapy group(TACE+molecular targeted therapy+immune checkpoint inhibitors,n=101)and the TACE alone group(n=133).Pathological outcomes were compared between the two groups using three key metrics:pathological necrosis ratio(PNR),pathological complete response(pCR,0%viable tumor),and major pathological response(MPR,≤10%residual viable tumor).Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the potential related factors associated with pCR.Results The triple therapy group showed superior median PNR(90.0%vs 80.0%),pCR(30.7%vs.17.3%)and MPR rates(56.4%vs.42.1%)compared with the TACE alone group(all P<0.05).Multivariate analysis identified moderate tumor differentiation(OR=3.34),histological subtypes(OR=32.45)and triple therapy(OR=3.02)as independent predictors for pCR.Conclusion Triple therapy integrating TACE with molecular targeted therapy plus immune checkpoint inhibitors can significantly enhance pathological response rates in BCLC B-stage HCC compared with TACE alone therapy,with tumor biological characteristics,particularly the differentiation status and histological subtype,serving as potential critical predictive factors for pCR.
Keywords：transarterial chemoembolization(TACE)hepatocellular carcinomacombination therapypathological responsepathological complete response
Publication Date：2025-08-20
Online Publishing Date：2025-09-24(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：6( 37-42 )