A study of cadonilimab combined with regorafenib as second-line or later therapy in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (aHCC).

person Qi Qi Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Oncology, Tianjin Cancer Hospital Airport Hospital, Tianjin, China info_outline Qi Qi, Yang Liu, Rentao Li, Yayue Liu, Xihao Zhang, Wei Lu, Huikai Li

Authors person Qi Qi Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Oncology, Tianjin Cancer Hospital Airport Hospital, Tianjin, China info_outline Qi Qi, Yang Liu, Rentao Li, Yayue Liu, Xihao Zhang, Wei Lu, Huikai Li Organizations Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Oncology, Tianjin Cancer Hospital Airport Hospital, Tianjin, China, Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Oncology, Tianjin Cancer Hospital Airport Hospital; Liver Cancer Center, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute & Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Tianjin, China, Liver Cancer Center, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute & Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Tianjin, China Abstract Disclosures Research Funding No funding received None. Background: Current second-line treatment options for aHCC patients (pts), including single TKI or anti-PD-1+anti-CTLA4, result in limited survival benefits, objective responses or increasing concerns regarding adverse effects. An exploration of safer and more effective second-line or later therapies for aHCC is paramount. Cadonilimab is a first-in-class bispecific, humanized IgG1 antibody targeting PD-1 and CTLA-4, which has the potential to boost immune surveillance in HCC. Previous data indicated that cadonilimab possesses an improved safety profile and an encouraging anti-tumour activity compared to combined administration of anti-PD-1 plus anti-CTLA-4 antibodies. Regorafenib was the first TKI that approved globally as a second-line treatment of aHCC. Here, we evaluated the safety of cadonilimab plus regorafenib as second-line or later therapy in pts with aHCC. Methods: The study population derived from prospectively collected retrospectively analyzed data (10/2022-02/2023) of pts treated with cadonilimab plus regorafenib as second-line or later therapy for aHCC at Tianjin Cancer Hospital Airport Hospital. The primary endpoint was safety. Results: We identified 29 pts with aHCC who received cadonilimab plus regorafenib. The median age was 59 years; 86.2% were male; 72% were ECOG PS 0; 72% had a Child-Pugh score of A at diagnosis. High risk factors for HCC included MVI (3pts), ≥3 tumour lesions (10pts), tumour diameter ≥5cm (5pts), AFP≥400ng/mL (5pts). Six pts (21%) received cadonilimab plus regorafenib in the second-line while the rest of pts (79%) received it as third-line or later. All pts previously received at least one line of immunotherapy combined with anti-angiogenic target agents. Seven pts received triple combination regimens (ICIs+TKIs/Bev+HAIC) before. At time of data extraction, no pts were assessed for efficacy due to the COVID-19 pandemic (especially the outbreak in early December 2022) and short follow-up time, we focused on the safety and tolerability in this report. Any grade treatment related adverse events (TRAEs) occurred in 24pts (83%). The most common TRAEs of any grade were hypoalbuminemia (24%), lymphocyte count decreased (21%), rash (14%), nausea (14%) and infusion reaction (14%). Only four (14%) patients experienced grade 3 TRAEs including infusion reaction (2pts), lymphocyte count decreased (1pt) and gastrointestinal hemorrhage (1pt, regorafenib related). No grade 4-5 TRAEs were observed. Conclusions: The combination of cadonilimab plus regorafenib was generally well tolerated. The prospective trail of cadonilimab combined with regorafenib as second-line or later therapy for aHCC is ongoing (NCT05644379). Although it needs to be reconfirmed, the treatment responses of some patients are encouraging (including sharp decrease in AFP level and/or reduced tumor size). Related data will be reported in the future.

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