ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Oncol.
Sec. Gastrointestinal Cancers: Hepato Pancreatic Biliary Cancers
Volume 15 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fonc.2025.1665348
Clinical efficacy of hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy combined with transhepatic arterial embolization plus lenvatinib and tislelizumab or transarterial chemoembolization combined with lenvatinib plus tislelizumab in the treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma
Provisionally accepted
- 1The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China
- 2Wuming Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China
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Purpose: Advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains a challenge for clinical treatment. The purpose of this study is to compare the efficacy of a quadruple combination of hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy (HAIC) with transhepatic arterial embolization (TAE), lenvatinib, and tislelizumab (THLP group) with that of a triple combination of transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) with lenvatinib and tislelizumab (TLP group) in advanced HCC. Methods: In this retrospective study, we analysed clinical information on patients diagnosed with advanced HCC with different treatments between October 2020 and December 2022 at Wuming Hospital. Primary outcomes included overall survival (OS), and progression-free survival (PFS), objective response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR). Results: The study included 116 patients, 69 in the TLP group and 47 in the THLP group. Median OS and PFS for the entire cohort were 13 (95% CI, 12.0-14.0) and 9.0 (95% CI, 7.7-10.2) months. OS (median, 17 vs. 12 months, P<0.001) and PFS (median, 11 vs. 7 months, P<0.001) were significantly prolonged in the THLP group compared with the TLP group. After correcting for confounders using 1:1 PSM, the results remained robust. The ORR and DCR were significantly higher in the THLP group than in the TLP group according to mRECIST (ORR: 74.5 vs. 52.2%, P=0.015; DCR: 87.3% vs. 71.0%, P=0.040). There were no grade 4 or higher adverse events. Conclusion: The quadruple combination of HAIC, TAE, lenvatinib, and tislelizumab in the treatment of advanced HCC has a better prognosis than the triple combination of TACE in combination with lenvatinib and tislelizumab, with tolerant safety.
Keywords: Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Transhepatic arterial embolization, Hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy, Transarterial chemoembolization, Lenvatinib, tislelizumab
Received: 14 Jul 2025; Accepted: 22 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zha, Qiong, Yu, Rong, Yi, Yang and Hai. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Huang Hai, huanghai_doctor@163.com
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