Journal of Practical Hepatology ›› 2023, Vol. 26 ›› Issue (1): 112-115.doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1672-5069.2023.01.029

• Hepatoma • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Clinical efficacy of PD-1 inhibitor and lenvatinib in the treatment of elderly patients with advanced primary liver cancer

Peng Yu, Li Haitao, Yang Wenli, et al   

  1. Second Division, Department of Oncology, Central Hospital, Jiangmen 529000, Guangdong Province, China
  • Received:2022-05-01 Online:2023-01-10 Published:2023-02-07

Abstract: Objective The aim of this study was to explore the clinical efficacy of programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1) inhibitor and lenvatinib in the treatment of elderly patients with advanced primary liver(PLC). Methods 56 patients with advanced PLC were admitted to our hospital between February, 2017 and February, 2020, and were divided into control (n=28) and observation group (n=28), receiving lenvatinib or PD-1 inhibitor, tirelizhu, and lenvatinib combination therapy. The peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets, CD4+ cell surface PD-1 and cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA-4) were detected by FCA. Serum acidic fibroblast growth factor (aFGF), basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) levels were detected by ELISA. Results At the end of three month treatment, there were no significant differences as respect to the objective remission rate (42.9% vs. 25.0%) and local control rate(78.6% vs. 64.3%, P>0.05); the percentages of CD3+, CD4+ and CD8+ cells in the combination treatment group were much higher than, while the CD4+/CD8+ cell ratio, as well as the cell PD-1 and CTLA-4 expression were much lower than in the control (P<0.05); serum aFGF, bFGF and VEGF levels in the observation group were (4.1±0.8)pg/L, (5.1±1.0)pg/L and (13.5±2.7)ng/ml, all significantly lower than [(5.3±0.9)pg/L, (6.1±0.8)pg/L and (18.6±3.1)ng/ml, respectively, P<0.05] in the control; at the end of two-year follow-up, there was no significant difference respect to the progression free survival (10.7% vs. 21.4%, P>0.05) between the two groups, while the overall survival in the observation group was 60.7%, much higher than 25.0% (P<0.05) in the control. Conclusion The strategy of PD-1 inhibitor and lenvatinib combination in the treatment of elderly patients with advanced PLC could improve immune functions and prognosis, which needs further investigation.

Key words: Hepatoma, Programmed cell death protein-1 inhibitor, Lenvatinib, Elderly, Therapy