Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42362971›Full record

ArticleHepatology international2026

Efficacy of radiation therapy plus targeted therapy with or without immunotherapy for lymph node metastases in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Li Zhang, Maopei Chen, Jing Sun, Zhaochong Zeng, Yang Zhang, Ping Yang, Yixing Chen, Shisuo Du

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Article in Hepatology international, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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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.

2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Li Zhang *Department of Radiation Oncology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1034-3299
Maopei Chen *Department of Hepatobiliary Oncology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Jing SunDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Zhaochong ZengDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Yang ZhangDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Ping YangDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China. yang.ping@zs-hospital.sh.cn.
Yixing ChenDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China. chen.yixing@zs-hospital.sh.cn.
Shisuo DuDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China. du.shisuo@zs-hospital.sh.cn.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND

aimsThis study aimed to investigate the efficacy of radiation therapy and targeted therapy combined with or without immunotherapy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients with lymph node metastases (LNM).

methodsA total of 132 HCC patients with LNM were enrolled in this study. Propensity score matching (PSM) and stabilized inverse probability of treatment weighting (sIPTW) were used to balance baseline variables between groups. Overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), objective response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR), and clinical safety were compared between the two treatment arms.

resultsThere were 61 patients in radiotherapy plus targeted therapy (RT) group, and 71 patients in radiation therapy, targeted therapy combined with immunotherapy (RTI) group. In the overall cohort, the median OS was 12.8 months in the RT group and 18.8 months in the RTI group (p = 0.003). Multivariate analysis identified that tumor thrombus status, distant metastasis, lymph node (LN) number, LN size and immunotherapy were independent prognostic factors for survival. Median PFS was 7.0 months in the RT group and 11.9 months in the RTI group (p = 0.001). The ORRs were 70.5% for the RT group and 85.9% for the RTI group in the total cohort (p = 0.031). After PSM and IPTW adjustment, ORR remained significantly higher in the RTI group (PSM: 88.9% vs. 68.9%, p = 0.020; IPTW: 86.8% vs. 71.5%, p = 0.033). The incidence of treatment-related adverse events was similar in both groups.

conclusionsThe findings of this study suggest that RTI provides superior treatment responses and survival outcomes compared to RT in HCC patients with LNM, while maintaining a comparable safety profile.

Indexed as

Carcinoma, HepatocellularImmunotherapyLiver NeoplasmsLymphatic MetastasisAgedCombined Modality TherapyFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPropensity ScoreRetrospective StudiesTreatment OutcomeHepatocellular carcinomaImmunotherapy, Immune checkpoint inhibitors, Propensity score matching, Stabilized inverse probability of treatment weightingLymph node metastasesRadiation therapyTargeted therapy

Identifiers

PMID42362971

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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.