Refining First-Line Immunotherapy Strategies in Hepatocellular Carcinoma: With Masatoshi Kudo, MD, PhD

Welcome to OncLive On Air®! I’m your host today, Jax DiEugenio.

In today’s episode, we spoke with Masatoshi Kudo, MD, about the evolving treatment landscape in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and how recent comparative analyses are helping refine the use of first-line immunotherapy-based regimens. Dr Kudo is a professor and chairman in the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Kindai University Faculty of Medicine in Osaka, Japan.

In our conversation, Dr Kudo discussed findings from a matched-adjusted indirect comparison (MAIC) that evaluated 3 immunotherapy-based regimens: atezolizumab (Tecentriq) plus bevacizumab (Avastin), tremelimumab (Imjudo) plus durvalumab (Imfinzi), and nivolumab (Opdivo) plus ipilimumab (Yervoy). This analysis leveraged individual patient data and published trial results to compare outcomes across regimens with differing control arms. He explained that although efficacy outcomes were similar within the first 6 months of treatment, nivolumab plus ipilimumab demonstrated superior progression-free survival, overall survival, and objective response rates beyond 6 months, with a safety profile comparable to atezolizumab plus bevacizumab .

Dr Kudo also highlighted how these findings position nivolumab plus ipilimumab as a potential new first-line treatment choice in HCC, given its durable efficacy and manageable toxicity, and shared his perspective on how clinicians should incorporate this regimen into practice.

That’s all we have for today! Thank you for listening to this episode of OncLive On Air. Check back throughout the week for exclusive interviews with leading experts in the oncology field.

For more updates in oncology, be sure to visit www.OncLive.com and sign up for our e-newsletters.

OncLive is also on social media. On X and BlueSky, follow us at @OncLive. On Facebook, like us at OncLive, and follow our OncLive page on LinkedIn.

If you liked today’s episode of OncLive On Air, please consider subscribing to our podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and many of your other favorite podcast platforms,* so you get a notification every time a new episode is posted. While you are there, please take a moment to rate us!

Thanks again for listening to OncLive On Air.