Two important factors affecting the prognosis of patients treated with sorafenib followed by regorafenib for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of hand–foot syndrome (HFS) and fatigue on disease progression and survival in patients treated with sorafenib followed by regorafenib for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma treated with sorafenib in our hospital from 1 October 2018 to 31 October 2021 was performed, and clinical and pathological data and follow-up results were obtained. Patients were divided into groups according to the severity of HFS and fatigue. Survival analysis among the groups was performed using the Kaplan–Meier method, continuous variables were analyzed using the t-test, and factors associated with survival were evaluated using multivariate Cox regression analysis. RESULTS: The study included 150 men and 23 women with a mean age of 60.77 years (range: 40–85 years). The median overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), and time to tumor progression (TTP) increased with increasing severity of HFS. Conversely, the median OS, PFS, and TTP decreased with increasing severity of fatigue CONCLUSION: HFS and fatigue were independent risk factors affecting TTP, PFS, and OS among patients treated with sorafenib followed by regorafenib for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma.