AUTHOR=Kan Xuefeng , Liang Bin , Zhou Guofeng , Xiong Bin , Pan Feng , Ren Yanqiao , Cao Yanyan , Wang Jihua , Yang Fan , Zheng Chuansheng 

TITLE=Transarterial Chemoembolization Combined With Apatinib for Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Propensity Score Matching Analysis

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Oncology

VOLUME=10

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/oncology/articles/10.3389/fonc.2020.00970

DOI=10.3389/fonc.2020.00970

ISSN=2234-943X

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Background:</bold> Apatinib is a powerful inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2. This study was aimed to investigate whether apatinib could improve the efficacy of transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).</p><p><bold>Methods:</bold> Between June 2015 and September 2018, 357 patients with HCC at Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer stage C who received the treatment of TACE combining with apatinib (TACE–apatinib) or TACE-alone were included. Propensity score matching (PSM) analysis was used to reduce the patient selection bias.</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> Ninety pairs of patients were chosen after the PSM analysis. The disease control rates of tumor and a-fetoprotein response in the TACE–apatinib group were significantly higher than that of the TACE-alone group before and after the PSM analysis (<italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.05). Before the PSM analysis, the median time of tumor progression (TTP) and the overall survival (OS) in the TACE–apatinib group were significantly greater than those of the TACE-alone group (TTP: 9.0 months vs. 3.0 months, <italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.001; OS: 14.0 months vs. 7.0 months, <italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.001). After the PSM analysis, the median TTP and OS in the TACE–apatinib group was also significantly greater than that of the TACE-alone group (TTP: 7.0 months vs. 3.0 months, <italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.001; OS: 13.0 months vs. 8.0 months, <italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.001); the uni- and multivariate analysis revealed that TACE–apatinib was a protective factor for OS. Fourteen patients emerged with grade 3 apatinib-related adverse events.</p><p><bold>Conclusion:</bold> The efficacy of TACE–apatinib for patients with advanced HCC was inspiring, and the side effects of apatinib were tolerable.</p>