Transarterial Chemoembolization Combined With Apatinib Plus PD-1 Inhibitors for Hepatocellular Carcinoma With Portal Vein Tumor Thrombus: A Multicenter Retrospective Study

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to compare transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) combined with apatinib and PD-1 inhibitors (TACE-AP) with TACE combined with apatinib alone (TACE-A) in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with portal vein tumor thrombus (PVTT) and to explore the prognostic factors affecting the survival of patients. METHODS: This retrospective study analyzed data of patients with HCC with PVTT who were treated with TACE-AP or TACE-A between December 2018 and June 2021. The primary end points of the study were progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS), and the secondary end points were objective response rate (ORR) and adverse events (AEs). Propensity score matching (PSM) and stabilized inverse probability weighting (sIPTW) analyses were used to reduce patient selection bias, and Cox regression analysis was used to analyze prognostic factors affecting patient survival. RESULTS: Sixty-nine and 40 patients were included in the TACE-A and TACE-AP groups, respectively. After PSM and IPTW analyses, the median PFS and median OS in the TACE-AP group were significantly higher than those in the TACE-A group (PFS: after PSM, 6.9 vs 4.0 months, P < 0.001, after IPTW, 6.5 vs 5.1 months, P < 0.001; OS: after PSM, 14.6 vs 8.5 months P < 0.001, after IPTW, 16.1 vs 10.5 months, P < 0.001). After PSM and IPTW analyses, the tumor ORR in the TACE-AP group was significantly higher than that in the TACE-A group (PSM, 53.6% vs 17.9%, P = 0.005; IPTW, 52.5% vs 28.6%, P = 0.013). All treatment-related AEs were observed to be tolerated. Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that the main prognostic factors affecting the survival of patients were tumor number, PVTT type, alpha-fetoprotein, and treatment mode. DISCUSSION: In the treatment of patients with HCC with PVTT, TACE-AP significantly improved PFS, OS, and ORR, and the AEs were safe and controllable.