Dr. Shroff on Remaining Unmet Needs for Patients With HCC

Rachna T. Shroff, MD, MS, medical director, Clinical Trials Office, chief, Section of GI Medical Oncology, director, Arizona Clinical Trials Network, associate director of clinical investigations, Clinical and Translational Oncology Program, University of Arizona, discusses remaining unmet needs for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Although data from the phase 3 IMbrave150 (NCT03434379) and HIMALAYA (NCT03298451) trials have served to potentially shape frontline treatment in this population, additional questions remain with regard to how to proceed in the second line and beyond, Shroff says. Moving forward, many patients will likely receive an immunotherapy-based approach in the frontline setting, and investigators will need to evaluate whether rechallenging with immunotherapy is feasible in later lines, Shroff explains.

Although strides have been made in the metastatic setting, it is unknown whether combinations such as atezolizumab (Tecentriq) and bevacizumab (Avastin) or durvalumab (Imfinzi) plus tremelimumab could play a role in the perioperative setting, Shroff adds.

Considering how these therapies work in the real-world setting is also critical, as many patients do not have Child-Pugh A cirrhosis, Shroff notes, adding that another key area to investigate is whether these combinations are applicable for those with Child-Pugh B early cirrhosis.