AUTHOR=Hoverson John , Qi Jonathan , Mehmken Cameron , Chiu Darian , Lowry Jack , Arora Sukeshi Patel , Newman Neil 

TITLE=Clinical outcomes of combination therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma in a predominantly hispanic South Texas population

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Oncology

VOLUME=Volume 15 - 2025

YEAR=2025

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/oncology/articles/10.3389/fonc.2025.1644056

DOI=10.3389/fonc.2025.1644056

ISSN=2234-943X

ABSTRACT=Background/AimCurrently, studies looking at hepatocellular carcinoma treatments with combination immunotherapy and locoregional therapies are limited in scope. Our study aimed to further clarify the impact of combination therapy using immunotherapy and locoregional therapy on mortality in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.MethodsA chart review was conducted on patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who had received either immunotherapy or tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Patients were classified into four treatment arms: 1. Patients treated with locoregional therapy and immunotherapy. 2. Patients treated with locoregional therapy and tyrosine kinase inhibitors. 3. Patients treated with immunotherapy but without locoregional therapy. 4. Combination treatment arm containing Arms 1 and 2. The primary objective was overall survival immunotherapy alone versus combination treatments.ResultsA total of 135 patient charts were analyzed in this study. One hundred nine patients had received immunotherapy, and 102 had received locoregional therapy. Cumulative median survival for all patients from the date of diagnosis was 1.55 years. Median survival for the immunotherapy arm was 0.51 years, and median survival for the combination treatment arm was 2.25 years. Results from the Cox proportional hazards regression model comparing the combination treatment groups against the immunotherapy arm found a hazard ratio of 0.21 (0.12-0.39; p<0.05).ConclusionIn this study of hepatocellular carcinoma, combination treatment groups receiving locoregional therapy with either tyrosine kinase inhibitors or immunotherapy demonstrated improved survival compared to immunotherapy alone. These results highlight the importance of tailored treatment strategies, particularly in patients with preserved liver function.