Published online Dec 15, 2024. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v16.i12.4766
Revised: August 28, 2024
Accepted: October 12, 2024
Published online: December 15, 2024
Processing time: 113 Days and 17.8 Hours
Newer systemic therapies for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) have led to growing interest in combining hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy (HAIC) with systemic treatments. To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of HAIC and combination therapies in treating advanced HCC, a network meta-analysis was conducted by Zhou et al. The study included data from 44 articles. HAIC was superior in overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), and response rates compared to transarterial chemoembolization and sorafenib. Moreover, combinations of HAIC with other treatments and single agents (e.g., lenvatinib, ablation, anti-programmed cell death 1 therapy, radiotherapy) provided better OS and PFS outcomes than HAIC alone. In this editorial, we will discuss the study findings, the strengths and weaknesses of the metanalysis, and future advances in the field of HAIC for advanced HCC.
Core Tip: This meta-analysis provides a valuable and comprehensive evaluation of hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy (HAIC) and its combination therapies for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. Compared to other treatments including transarterial chemoembolization, HAIC showed favorable outcomes including response rate and survival. Furthermore, based on the findings, combination of HAIC with antiangiogenics and even immune checkpoint inhibitors seems to improve efficacy when compared to HAIC alone.