Comparison of stereotactic body radiation therapy with and without sorafenib as treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma with portal vein tumor thrombosis

Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) has emerged as a treatment option for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients. However, the treatment outcomes for patients with portal vein tumor thrombosis (PVTT) remain poor. In this study, we evaluate the efficacy of SBRT with and or without sorafenib for advanced HCC with PVTT. Fifty four HCC patients with PVTT treated with SBRT using the Cyberknife system was retrospectively analyzed between January 2009 and June 2016. Of these, sorafenib combined with SBRT was administered to 18 patients and SBRT alone was administered to 36 patients. SBRT was designed to target the liver tumor and tumor thrombosis, with a radiation dose of 36 to 45 Gy (median 40 Gy) given in 3 to 5 fractions. The mean follow-up period for SBRT with sorafenib and SBRT alone was 13.22 ± 10.07 months and 15.33 ± 22.01 months, respectively. The response rate was comparable in both groups. Complete response and partial response rates were 77.77% for SBRT with sorafenib and 75.00% without sorafenib (P = .43). The median progression-free survival rate was 6 months (2–11 months) versus 3 months (2–5.6 months) (P = .24) and the 1- and 2-year progression-free survival rates were 25.7% and 15.2% versus 11.1% and 8.3% (P = .1225). The median, 1- and 2-year overall survival rates (OSR) were 12.5 months, 55.6% and 17.7% versus 7 months (5–13.5 months), 33.3% and 11.1% (P = .28), for SBRT with sorafenib versus SBRT alone groups, respectively. The result of our study shows that SBRT with sorafenib administered group resulted in a higher median, progression-free, and OSR for HCC patients with PVTT. However, the trends did not attain statistical significance. A large-scale randomized study is needed to assess the benefits of SBRT with sorafenib administration for patient with PVTT.