Radiofrequency ablation combined with toripalimab for recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma: A prospective controlled trial

OBJECTIVE: The effectiveness and security of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) in combination with toripalimab (anti‐PD‐1) for the treatment of recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) was studied in this article. METHODS: Total of 40 patients were enrolled in the study between September 2019 and November 2021. Data follow‐up ends in April 2022. The study’s main focus is on recurrence free survival (RFS), while the secondary objectives was safety. Chi‐square tests, Kaplan‐Meier, and Cox proportional hazards models were utilized to analyze the data. RESULTS: The median follow‐up period was 21.40 months, and the median RFS was 15.40 months in the group that received combination therapy, which was statistically significantly different (HR: 0.44, p = 0.04) compared with the RFA group (8.2 months). RFS rates (RFSr) at 6, 12 and 18 months in the combination therapy groups and RFA groups were 80% vs 65%, 62.7% vs 35% and 48.7% vs 18.8%, respectively. Between the two groups, significant difference of RFSr was found at 18 months (p = 0.04). No statistical differences were observed between the two groups in terms of safeness (p > 0.05). The subgroup analysis indicated that the combination of RFA and anti‐PD‐1 led to better RFS than RFA alone. Moreover, patients benefited more from combination therapy in the groups younger than 60 years (HR: 0.26, p = 0.018), male (HR: 0.32, p = 0.028) and Child‐Pugh grade A (HR: 0.38, p = 0.032). CONCLUSIONS: Combining RFA with anti‐PD‐1 showed improved RFS and was deemed safe for patients with recurrent HCC who had previously undergone RFA treatment alone.