Factors Affecting Therapeutic Effects in 17 Patients with Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma Who Were Treated with Sorafenib for More than 12 Months

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Sorafenib is recommended for treating advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. However, it is frequently discontinued because of adverse events, which greatly affects its therapeutic effects. Furthermore, because patients treated with sorafenib for a long period can presumably tolerate adverse events, this study aimed to identify their characteristics and analyze factors affecting the therapeutic effects of the drug. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Seventeen patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who received sorafenib for 12 months or longer at our hospital between January 2009 and October 2015 were included. In these 17 patients, factors affecting the time to untreatable progression were analyzed using a Cox proportional hazards model, Kaplan-Meier curve, and log-rank test. RESULTS: In the 17 patients, the mean sorafenib dose was 433 mg/day. The drug was discontinued in 12 patients, 9 (75%) of whom discontinued it because of progressive disease. The median time to untreatable progression was 23.1 months. The contributors to favorable therapeutic effects included administration of at least two sessions of concomitant therapy after initiating sorafenib therapy, a low neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, and a decreased total bilirubin level. CONCLUSION: Achieving favorable therapeutic effects of sorafenib requires strict dose adjustment that allows better control of adverse events and long-term administration of the drug. Furthermore, combining sorafenib with other therapies, a low neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, and a decreased total bilirubin level are useful predictors of favorable effects.