Abstract: Objective The aim of this study was to investigate clinical efficacy of sintilimaband anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) antibody in the treatment of patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC). Methods 90 patients with unresectable HCC were encountered in our hospital between January 2022 and January 2024, and were randomly divided into control group (n=45) and observation group (n=45), receiving sintilimab alone or combination of sintilimab with anti-VEGF antibody treatment for four to six regimen. SF-36 questionnaire was applied to assess life quality. Serum VEGF, alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) levels were detected routinely. Peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets were determined by FCM. Results Objective remission rate and disease control rate in the observation group were 28.9% and 77.8%, both much higher than 8.9% and 55.6%(P＜0.05) in the control; after treatment, role limitation, physiological function, physical function and overall health scores in the observation were (47.1±4.5)points, (43.5±5.3)points, (47.9±4.1)points and (55.8±5.7)points, all significantly greater than [(42.5±5.6)points, (38.7±3.7)points, (43.7±3.8)points and (48.0±5.3)points, respectively, P＜0.05] in the control; serum VEGF and AFP levels were (114.3±18.7)pg/ml and (73.4±8.6)μg/L, both significantly lower than [(132.8±17.6)pg/ml and (158.0±9.2)μg/L, respectively, P＜0.05] in the control group; percentages of peripheral blood CD⁺₃ and CD⁺₄ cells, and CD₄/CD₈ cell ratio were (41.7±4.9)%, (30.0±3.5)% and (1.6±0.2), all much higher than [(38.2±4.0)%, ⁺(27.1±3.6)% and (1.4±0.2), respectively, P＜0.05] in the control group. Conclusion The short-term efficacy of sintilimab plus anti-VEGF antibody combination is relatively satisfactory, which might be related to transiently improvement of body immune functions and inhibition of vascular formation of tumors.

Key words: Hepatoma, Sintilimab, Anti-vascular endothelial growth factor antibody, Therapy