A meta-analysis of findings in that study indicated that patients with HCC with a viral etiology showed therapeutic benefits from ICI use, whereas those with a nonviral etiology did not (P = 0.03). Moreover, atezolizumab plus bevacizumab treatment (Atezo + Bev), an immune-checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) and anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) combination, was recently introduced in September 2020 as a first-line treatment option for u-HCC 4.ĭespite the good therapeutic response noted for Atezo + Bev in the IMbrave 150 trial, a recent report noted that therapeutic responses to ICI treatments differed according to the etiology of the background liver disease 5. Following development of that drug, lenvatinib received approval as another first-line treatment in 2018 3. Molecular targeted agents (MTAs) have recently been introduced for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (u-HCC), with sorafenib developed first in 2009 as a first-line MTA based on results presented in the SHARP 1 and Asia–Pacific 2 trials. Lenvatinib can improve the prognosis of patients affected by u-HCC irrespective of HCC etiology or its line of treatment.

7.5 months, P = 0.012), while there was no significant difference in overall survival (OS) (20.5 vs. Progression-free survival (PFS) was better in the NAFLD/NASH than the Viral/Alcohol group (median 9.3 vs. Clinical features were compared in a retrospective manner.

Five hundred thirty u-HCC patients with Child–Pugh A were enrolled, and divided into the NAFLD/NASH (n = 103) and Viral/Alcohol (n = 427) groups. The present study aimed to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of lenvatinib in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)/NASH-related unresectable-HCC (u-HCC).

It was recently reported that hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) are not responsive to immune-checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) treatment.

Pandemic by J.F. Bone