Table 1.
Selected studies evaluating the combination of locoregional therapies and immunotherapies.
| Study | Description |
|---|---|
| Ablation | |
| Duffy et al. [77] | Single-arm/institution prospective study of tremelimumab with subtotal RFA performed on day 36 in HCC patients. Noted increase in intratumoral CD8+ T cells and an acceptable safety profile. |
| Qiao et al. [76] | Prospective study of patients who underwent TACE + MWA. Patients were offered ICI, and 15 patients accepted ICI, and the other 21 were utilized as a control group. Interim analysis demonstrated a prolongation of RFS in those who had ICI in addition to TACE + MWA. |
| TACE | |
| Chang et al. [78] | Prospective single-arm study of TACE, followed by EBRT, and followed by avelumab in 33 patients with locally advanced HCC. Demonstrated favorable oncologic outcomes and complication profiles. |
| Yang et al. [79] | Retrospective study of 52 HCC patients treated with second-line therapy, comparing regorafenib plus ICI plus or minus TACE. Demonstrated improved OS in patients who had TACE in addition to regorafenib and ICI. |
| Yuan et al. [80] | Retrospective multicenter study of HCC patients with portal vein tumor thrombus who underwent R0 resection and compared to those that received post-surgical TACE and those that received post-surgical TACE and ICI. Study found TACE plus ICI prolonged OS and RFS as compared to those who received only TACE in the post-surgical time period. |
| TARE | |
| Zhan et al. [81] | Retrospective single center study of 26 patients who underwent TARE followed by ICI. The study focused on safety and the study suggested safety of the combination. |
| Tai et al. [82] | Prospective single-arm study evaluating TARE followed by nivolumab 21 days after and every 2 weeks thereafter. The objective response rate was positive and the safety profile was acceptable. |
| de la Torre-Alavez [83] | Single-arm prospective multicenter study in HCC patients treated with TARE followed by nivolumab 3 weeks later. Study demonstrated promising oncologic outcomes and safety profile. |
RFA = Radiofrequency ablation, HCC = hepatocellular carcinoma, RFA = radiofrequency ablation, MWA = microwave ablation, TACE = transarterial chemoembolization, EBRT = external beam radiation therapy, ICI = immune checkpoint inhibitor, OS = overall survival, RFS = recurrence-free survival, TARE = transarterial radioembolization.