Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39801612›Full record

ArticleTherapeutic advances in medical oncology2025

Comparing immunotherapy effectiveness for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma: infiltrative versus non-infiltrative types in real-world settings.

Chien-Ming Chiang, Kuan-Kai Huang, Chun-Te Lee, Tzu-Chun Hong, Juei-Seng Wu, Hung-Tsung Wu, Ting-Tsung Chang, Yi-Sheng Liu, Wei-Ting Chen, Chung-Teng Wang and 9 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Therapeutic advances in medical oncology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

19 authors.

Chien-Ming ChiangDepartment of Internal Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
Kuan-Kai HuangDepartment of Internal Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
Chun-Te LeeDepartment of Internal Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
Tzu-Chun HongDepartment of Internal Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
Juei-Seng WuDepartment of Internal Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
Hung-Tsung WuDepartment of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan Taiwan.
Ting-Tsung ChangDepartment of Internal Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
Yi-Sheng LiuDepartment of Diagnostic Radiology, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
Wei-Ting ChenDepartment of Internal Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
Chung-Teng WangDepartment of Internal Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
Chen ChangDepartment of Pathology, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
Po-Jun ChenDepartment of Internal Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
Ming-Tsung HsiehDepartment of Internal Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
Chiung-Yu ChenDepartment of Internal Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
Chiao-Hsiung ChuangDepartment of Internal Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
Ching-Chi LeeClinical Medical Research Center, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan Taiwan.
Sheng-Hsiang LinInstitute of Clinical Medicine, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
Yih-Jyh LinDepartment of Surgery, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, No. 138, Sheng Li Road, Tainan 704, Taiwan.
Hsin-Yu KuoDepartment of Internal Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, No. 138, Sheng Li Road, Tainan 704, Taiwan.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6413-7669

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Infiltrative hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is often associated with an unfavorable prognosis, posing a challenge in determining the optimal therapeutic approach. Immunotherapy, employing immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), has become a preferred first-line treatment for advanced HCC. However, the overall effectiveness of ICIs in patients with infiltrative HCC remains unclear. This study aims to compare the effect of ICI treatment on clinical outcomes between patients with infiltrative and non-infiltrative HCC. Materials and methods: A retrospective cohort consisting of unresectable HCC patients who underwent immunotherapy with ICIs, categorized into infiltrative and non-infiltrative groups was studied. Primary outcomes comprised treatment response according to Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) criteria, progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS). Results: Of 198 patients, 60 (30.3%) had infiltrative HCC, while 138 (69.7%) had non-infiltrative HCC. In the infiltrative group, the objective response rate (ORR) was 36.7% and the disease control rate (DCR) was 55.0%. For the non-infiltrative group, the ORR was 33.3% and the DCR was 56.5%, showing no significant difference between the two groups. However, patients in the infiltrative group had significantly shorter median of PFS and OS following immunotherapy, with a PFS of 4.1 months (95% CI: 2.5-6.7; Conclusion: For immunotherapy, infiltrative HCC exhibits treatment responses similar to non-infiltrative HCC. Nonetheless, infiltrative HCC is associated with shorter survival outcomes, compared with non-infiltrative type. Our findings emphasize the essential of considering type discrepancies when developing management strategies for immunotherapy.

Indexed as

hepatocellular carcinomaimmune checkpoint inhibitorsinfiltrative tumor morphology

Identifiers

PMID39801612
PMCPMC11719450

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Registered trials

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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.