AUTHOR=Schütte Kerstin , Kupčinskas Juozas , Morkunas Egidijus , Öcal Osman , Schinner Regina , Seidensticker Max , De Toni Enrico N. , Ben Khaled Najib , Pech Maciej , Palmer Daniel , Berg Thomas , Sengel Christian , Basu Bristi , Valle Juan W. , Benckert Julia , Gasbarrini Antonio , Sangro Bruno , Malfertheiner Peter , Ricke Jens TITLE=Dynamics in Circulating Proinflammatory Biomarkers for Prognostic Assessment of Patients With Advanced HCC – A Substudy From the SORAMIC Trial JOURNAL=Frontiers in Gastroenterology VOLUME=1 YEAR=2022 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/gastroenterology/articles/10.3389/fgstr.2022.939192 DOI=10.3389/fgstr.2022.939192 ISSN=2813-1169 ABSTRACT=Introduction

Prediction of response to treatment in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) may assist in the selection of personalized management.

Objective

This exploratory analysis of the palliative arm of the SORAMIC trial (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01126645) evaluated the prognostic potential of basal and dynamic changes in systemic levels of interleukin 6 (IL-6), interleukin 8 (IL-8), systemic vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and lipopolysaccharide (LPS).

Methods

We evaluated the correlations between overall survival (OS) and concentrations of IL-6, IL-8, VEGF, and LPS at follow-up approximately 7-9 weeks after treatment initialization (FU) compared to baseline (BL) in 90 patients treated either with 90Yttrium (90Y) microspheres combined with sorafenib (n = 44) or with sorafenib (n = 46) alone.

Results

Changes in IL-6 concentration during treatment showed correlations with the outcome. An increase in IL-6 concentration of less than 16.8 pg/mL over baseline readings was associated with better survival [median OS 16.3 months compared with 8.9 months (p = 0.0354)]. Correlations with survival were not observed for VEGF or LPS concentrations at baseline, at FU, or changes between these time points.

Conclusions

Changes in IL 6 serum levels at 7-9 weeks after treatment initialization but not in IL 8, VEGF, or LPS add important information on the outcome of advanced HCC patients treated palliatively within the SORAMIC trial.