Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy with or Without Adjuvant Immunotherapy for Small Hepatocellular Carcinoma: an Open-label, Randomized, Phase II Trial
For inoperable small hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) is an effective and safe local treatment. Despite satisfactory local control rate, the incidence of recurrence out the field remains substantial, with 2-year PFS of 31.9% to 60.9%. Therefore, a more effective treatment mode is urgently needed. Immune checkpoint inhibitors targeting PD-1/PD-L1 have shown substantial clinical benefits in advanced HCC as well as resected high-risk HCC. Recently, the combination of immunotherapy with SBRT has shown promising activity in HCC, but its utility in small HCC is unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of SBRT followed by sintilimab (an anti-PD-1 antibody) in patients with recurrent or residual small HCC.
• Histologically confirmed hepatocellular carcinoma or diagnosed by American Association for the Study of Liver Disease criteria;
• Presence of recurrent or residual HCC lesions without vascular invasion or extrahepatic metastasis confirmed by CT or MRI, the sum of the maximum diameter of lesions ≤5 cm, total number of lesions were ≤2, and at least one of which is measurable according to the RECIST 1.1 Criteria;
• Previous molecular targeted therapy or intravenous chemotherapy is allowed, but the interval of drug withdrawal was at least 6 months prior to protocol therapy;
• Age at diagnosis 18 to 75 years;
• Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status ≤ 2
• Child-Pugh class A liver function;
• Normal liver volume greater than 700 ml;
• Estimated life expectancy ≥24 weeks;
• The function of important organs meets the following requirements: a. white blood cell count (WBC) ≥ 3.0×109/L, absolute neutrophil count (ANC) ≥ 1.5×109/L; b. platelets ≥ 50×109/L; c. hemoglobin ≥ 9g/dL; d. serum albumin ≥ 2.8g/dL; e. total bilirubin ≤ 1.5×ULN, ALT, AST and/or AKP ≤ 2.5×ULN; f. serum creatinine ≤ 1.5×ULN or creatinine clearance rate \>60 mL/min;
⁃ Ability to understand the study and sign informed consent.