SynthesisBMC cancer2022
Efficacy and safety of combined targeted therapy and immunotherapy versus targeted monotherapy in unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in BMC cancer, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 24 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Clinical outcomes and prognostic factors of systemic therapy combined with interventional treatment in hepatocellular carcinoma: a multicenter retrospective case series.Translational cancer research · 2026Article
- Immunotherapy in hepatocellular carcinoma: translating mechanistic insights into clinical advances.Clinical and experimental medicine · 2026Review
- Construction and validation of a novel model for guiding targeted combined immunotherapy in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Relative treatment effects of first-line chemotherapy and immunotherapy for hepatocellular carcinoma: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Cancer pathogenesis and therapy · 2025Review
- Molecular Subtyping of Hepatocellular Carcinoma via Lysosome-Related Genes for Prognosis and Therapy Prediction.International journal of general medicine · 2025Article
- Predictors of severity and onset timing of immune-related adverse events in cancer patients receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors: a retrospective analysis.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Article
- Mitotic MTH1 inhibitor TH1579 induces PD-L1 expression and inflammatory response through the cGAS-STING pathway.Oncogenesis · 2024Article
- Progress of immune checkpoint inhibitors in the treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma.Frontiers in immunology · 2024Review
- Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD), Type 2 Diabetes, and Non-viral Hepatocarcinoma: Pathophysiological Mechanisms and New Therapeutic Strategies.Biomedicines · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundCancer therapy has evolved from non-specific cytotoxic agents to a selective, mechanism-based approach that includes targeted agents and immunotherapy. Although the response to targeted therapies for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is acceptable with the improved survival, the high tumor recurrence rate and drug-related side effects continue to be problematic. Given that immune checkpoint inhibitor alone are not robust enough to improve survival in unresectable HCC, growing evidence supports the combination of targeted therapy and immunotherapy with synergistic effect.
methodsOnline databases including PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science were searched for the studies that compared targeted monotherapy with the combination therapy of targeted drug and checkpoint inhibitors in unresectable HCC patients. Eligibility criteria were the presence of at least one measurable lesion as defined by the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (version 1.1) for unresectable HCC patients, an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 0-2, and a Child-Pugh score ≤ 7. Outcome measurements include overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), and treatment-related adverse event (TRAE).
resultsThree phase II/III randomized controlled trials were included in this study. The pooled results showed that combination therapy significantly improved survival than targeted monotherapy, in terms of OS (hazard ratio (HR) = 0.67; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.50-0.91) and PFS (HR = 0.58; 95% CI: 0.51-0.67), respectively. In the incidence of grade 3-5 TRAEs, the combination therapy was significantly higher than targeted monotherapy (odds ratio = 1.98; 95% CI: 1.13-3.48).
conclusionFor unresectable HCC, combined targeted drug and immunotherapy significantly improved survival compared with targeted monotherapy. However, the incidences of AEs of combinational therapy were higher than targeted monotherapy.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.