Unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma: prospects for drug therapy with lenvatinib

There is a number of unresolved issues regarding the systemic therapy administration for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Their solution is facilitated by accumulating real‑world study results. Lenvatinib therapy is a recognized drug with a good efficacy and safety profile for the treatment of HCC. Subanalyses of the REFLECT study showed that the absence of stratification by baseline AFP and baseline liver function, as well as the lack of options for subsequent drug therapy after lenvatinib, also affects the outcomes. Once these factors are taken into account, the hypothesis of superiority of lenvatinib to sorafenib and other drugs can be tested. Real‑world clinical studies have demonstrated positive results of lenvatinib therapy in patients with Child‑Pugh class B liver function, provided recommendations on the sequence of systemic therapy after lenvatinib and on the use of lenvatinib in patients with BCLC stage B, along with considering the possibility of lenvatinib monotherapy and the prospects for its use in patients with nHCC. Further real‑world studies of lenvatinib for HCC in the Russian population are required.