Abstract
Background & Aims: Intermediate hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treatment has become complicated due to the development of various molecular-targeted agents (MTAs). We aimed to determine whether the administration of MTAs in patients with intermediate-stage HCC contributed to the prevention of progression to an advanced stage. Methods: We enrolled and retrospectively examined 289 patients with Child-Pugh class A who had been diagnosed with intermediate-stage HCC and underwent initial trans-arterial chemoembolization (TACE). Patients were classified into 2 groups: a group in which MTAs were administered to patients whose condition was refractory to TACE (n = 65) and a group in which MTAs were not administered (n = 65) at intermediate-stage HCC after propensity score matching (PSM). Time to stage progression (TTSP) and overall survival (OS) were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method and analyzed using a log-rank test after PSM. Results: TTSP and OS of the group with MTA administration were significantly longer than those of the group without MTA administration (TTSP: 36.4 vs. 17.9 months, p < 0.001; median survival time [MST]: 44.6 vs. 26.6 months, p = 0.001). Within the up-to-seven criteria and administration of MTAs at the intermediate-stage HCC were identified as independent factors for TTSP and OS in the multivariate analysis. TTSP and OS in the era of the multi-MTA group were significantly longer than those in the era of the mono-MTA group (TTSP: 44.8 vs. 27.4 months, p = 0.01; MST: 53.4 vs. 33.3 months, p = 0.01). Conclusion: The administration of MTAs in patients with intermediate-stage HCC contributes to the prevention of stage progression and prolongs OS.
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