Journal of hepatocellular carcinoma
Prognosis and Safety of Neoadjuvant Therapy Plus Surgery versus Upfront Surgery in Patients with Resectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma at CNLC Ib-IIa Stage: A Propensity Score Matching Study
By Xiang B, Xu L, Shan J and 7 others.
Abstract
Introduction
High-level evidence for neoadjuvant therapy in China Liver Cancer Staging (CNLC) Ib-IIa hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is lacking, and treatment duration is not standardized. This study aimed to compared prognosis and safety between neoadjuvant therapy plus surgery and upfront surgery, and to explore better neoadjuvant treatment duration, in CNLC Ib-IIa HCC patients.
Method
This retrospective study included patients with CNLC stage Ib-IIa HCC who underwent liver resection at our center between 2019 and 2024. Patients were divided into neoadjuvant therapy group and upfront surgery group. Propensity score matching (PSM) was used to control for confounders. In the neoadjuvant therapy group, patients with stable disease (SD) or partial response (PR) after a short course of cycles were subdivided into a short-course group and an extended group. Endpoints were recurrence-free survival (RFS), overall survival (OS), and surgical safety.