The impact of patient and tumour baseline characteristics on the overall survival of patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma treated with sorafenib

BackgroundImpact of patient and tumour baseline characteristics on the overall survival is not well characterized in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treated with sorafenib.Aims/methodsUnivariate/multivariate analyses were conducted to identify retrospectively the impact of baseline characteristics on the survival of 110 patients with advanced HCC treated with sorafenib.ResultsMedian survival of the whole cohort was 6.7 months, median survival in Child-Pugh A, B, C patients was 10.5, 6.1 and 3.0 months and median survival of patients with Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stage C/D was 6.8/2.6 months. Presence of ascites, presence of macrovascular invasion and BCLC stage D (mainly determined by Child-Pugh C status and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status > 2) remained independent prognostic factors for the survival on multivariate analysis. Particularly, the presence of macrovascular invasion significantly influenced survival both in patients with liver cirrhosis Child-Pugh A and Child-Pugh B.ConclusionWell maintained liver function and performance status are prerequisites for sorafenib treatment in patients with advanced HCC. Our findings do not support routine clinical use of sorafenib in Child-Pugh B patients. Evaluation of ascites and particularly macrovascular invasion might help to identify patients more likely to benefit from sorafenib treatment.