Dr. El-Khoueiry Discusses Recent Combination Data in HCC

Anthony El-Khoueiry, MD, associate professor of clinical medicine, Keck School of Medicine, USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses recent combination data in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

There was a lot of discussion surrounding early trials in HCC during the 2018 International Liver Cancer Association Annual Conference, says El-Khoueiry. This includes some trials looking at combination therapy. Most of these trials are looking at anti—PD-1/PD-L1 agents with either tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) such as sorafenib (Nexavar) and lenvatinib (Lenvima), or with anti-VEGF agents.

One of the trials presented at the conference was the combination of atezolizumab (Tecentriq) with bevacizumab (Avastin). Although it showed a response rate of 60%, it was in a small number of patients, so El-Khoueiry says that this should be interpreted with caution. Further data is awaited. Nonetheless, there is excitement for the possibility for combinations of anti—PD-1/PD-L1 agents with anti-VEGF or TKIs in general, El-Khoueiry concludes.