Efficacy of Ramucirumab Versus Sorafenib as Subsequent Treatment for Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Abstract

Background/aim: The present study aimed to examine the therapeutic efficacy of ramucirumab compared with that of sorafenib as subsequent systemic therapy for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and serum α-fetoprotein (AFP) levels ≥400 ng/ml.

Patients and methods: In our prospectively registered, real-world cohort, 13 and 11 patients treated with ramucirumab or sorafenib, respectively, were analyzed. Progression-free survival (PFS) was primarily compared between the ramucirumab and sorafenib groups.

Results: The PFS was significantly longer in the ramucirumab group than in the sorafenib group (median, 2.7 vs. 0.9 months, respectively; p=0.005). There were no significant differences in the objective response rates or the disease control rates between the ramucirumab and sorafenib groups (9.1% and 54.5% vs. 0.0% and 22.2%, respectively).

Conclusion: Subsequent systemic therapy with ramucirumab showed a better ability to control tumor progression than sorafenib in HCC patients with serum AFP levels ≥400 ng/ml.

Keywords: Ramucirumab; hepatocellular carcinoma; sorafenib; subsequent systemic therapy; α-Fetoprotein.