Hepatocarcinoma is the most common primary liver tumor. A new study, presented by Dr. Lorenza Rimassa, Deputy Head of the Medical Oncology Operations Unit in Humanitas at the ESMO 2018 Congress in Munich, the leading medical oncology society in Europe and at the AIOM 2018 Congress, the Italian Association of Medical Oncology, presented the new treatment available for this oncological disease. The study, in which Humanitas participated with an important contribution, was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. We talked about it with the person directly concerned.
A new drug for the treatment of hepatocarcinoma
During the 20th AIOM congress held in Rome from 16 to 18 November, Dr. Rimassa presented the data of the CELESTIAL study that led to the registration of cabozantinib, a new drug for the treatment of patients with hepatocarcinoma, by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). The new phase III international multicenter survey involved more than 700 patients and evaluated cabozantinib activity in patients with advanced hepatocarcinoma, already treated with sorafenib, which is the standard therapy. This new protocol demonstrated an advantage of cabozantinib over placebo, with a significant improvement in overall survival and free from disease progression.
Hepatocarcinoma is the most common primary liver tumor. A new study, presented by Dr. Lorenza Rimassa, Deputy Head of the Medical Oncology Operations Unit in Humanitas at the ESMO 2018 Congress in Munich, the leading medical oncology society in Europe and at the AIOM 2018 Congress, the Italian Association of Medical Oncology, presented the new treatment available for this oncological disease. The study, in which Humanitas participated with an important contribution, was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. We talked about it with the person directly concerned.
The transition from regional to systemic treatments
At the ESMO 2 congress, Dr. Rimassa addressed one of the central issues in the scientific debate on the treatment of hepatocarcinoma: the transition from local-regional treatments, such as chemembolization, to systemic treatments. “The time for the transition to systemic medical therapy is fundamental – the expert confirmed -, especially today when new drugs are available for the treatment of this disease and others will be soon”.
New therapeutic frontiers
“So the treatment landscape for patients with hepatocarcinoma is expanding and further treatment options will be available soon,” concluded Dr. Rimassa, illustrating the new treatment options available for patients with advanced hepatocarcinoma that are in addition to the standard therapy for the past 10 years with sorafenib are four new drugs. These are drugs such as Lenvatinib, Regorafenib, Cabozantinib and Ramucirumab, which have proven to be effective and tolerable. Regorafenib is already available in clinical practice, while the other drugs will be available in the near future. Other strategies being studied include immunotherapy, the results of which are expected with interest.
