Evaluation of the efficacy of aparatinib and carrilizumab combined with transcatheter arterial chemoembolization in the treatment of primary hepatocellular carcinoma

C. Chen, X.-T. Duan, G.-Y. Li, X.-J. Hao, W.-L. Wang, Y.-F. Shen, S.-H. Zhang

The Second Department of Oncology, Affiliated Hospital of Hebei Engineering University, Handan, Hebei, China. liguiyingdr@21cn.com

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• Oncology

OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to analyze the efficacy of aparatinib and carrilizumab combined with transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) in the treatment of primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 150 patients with primary HCC admitted to our hospital from March 1, 2019, to March 1, 2022 was chosen and randomized as the control and treatment group. The control group went through TACE treatment, and the treatment group experienced apatinib + karilizumab + TACE treatment. The near and long-term efficacy of the two groups were compared. The total survival time (OS), time to progression (TTP), and hospital costs were compared between the two groups. Fasting venous blood was collected before and one month after treatment in the two groups, and liver and kidney functions were tested using automatic biochemical analyzer. The levels of CD3+, CD4+ and CD8+ were detected by flow cytometry, and CD4+/CD8+ was calculated. The levels of cysteinyl aspartate specific protease-8 (Caspase-8), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and alpha fetoprotein (AFP) were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The patients’ conditions were closely observed and the adverse reaction rates of diarrhea, hand foot syndrome, bone marrow suppression, proteinuria, fever and pain were compared between the two groups.

RESULTS: The disease control rate (DCR) of short-term treatment in the treatment group was 97.33%, which was much higher than 88.00% in the control group. The survival ratios of the treatment group in September and December were 65.33% and 42.67% respectively, which were also much higher than 48.00% and 20.00% in the control group (p < 0.05). The TTP and OS of patients in the treatment group were significantly longer than those in the control group (p < 0.05), and the hospital expenses were significantly higher than those in the control group (p < 0.05). The levels of liver function indicators such as alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and total bilirubin (TBIL) were largely decreased in both groups after treatment, and more significant difference was detected in the treatment group (p < 0.05). Renal function between the two groups had no significant difference after treatment (p > 0.05). After treatment, the levels AFP and VEGF were strongly decreased and the level of Caspase-8 was markedly increased in both groups, and the treatment group had lower levels of AFP and VEGF and higher level of Caspase-8 than the control group (p < 0.05). The CD3+ and CD4+/CD8+ levels in two groups were dramatically elevated after treatment, and the treatment group had much higher CD3+ and CD4+/CD8+ levels than the control group (p < 0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in the rates of adverse reactions such as diarrhea, hand-foot syndrome, bone marrow suppression, proteinuria, fever, and pain between the two groups (p > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS: The combination of apatinib and carrilizumab with TACE had better near- and long-term efficacy in the treatment of primary HCC by effectively inhibiting tumor vascular regeneration, inducing tumor cell apoptosis, and improving patients’ liver function and immune function with higher safety, which could be widely used in clinical practice.

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