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©The Author(s) 2026. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastrointest Oncol. Jan 15, 2026; 18(1): 113099
Published online Jan 15, 2026. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v18.i1.113099
Published online Jan 15, 2026. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v18.i1.113099
Patients with hepatocellular carcinoma achieving a complete response to sorafenib: Three case reports and review of literature
Hana Lučev, Gordan Adžić, Stjepko Pleština, Juraj Prejac, Department of Oncology, University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Zagreb 10000, Croatia
Stjepko Pleština, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb 10000, Croatia
Juraj Prejac, School of Dental Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb 10000, Croatia
Author contributions: Lučev H and Adžić G collected the data and drafted the manuscript; Prejac J and Pleština S revised and commented on the manuscript; all authors contributed to the manuscript and approved the submitted version.
Informed consent statement: All patients provided written informed consent for publication of their clinical data.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Gordan Adžić, MD, Department of Oncology, University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Kišpatićeva 12, Zagreb 10000, Croatia. gordan.adzic@gmail.com
Received: August 15, 2025
Revised: September 21, 2025
Accepted: November 20, 2025
Published online: January 15, 2026
Processing time: 150 Days and 16 Hours
Revised: September 21, 2025
Accepted: November 20, 2025
Published online: January 15, 2026
Processing time: 150 Days and 16 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Complete responses to sorafenib in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma are extremely rare. This case series reports 3 patients who, despite having advanced hepatocellular carcinoma with features like portal vein thrombosis and extrahepatic spread, achieved durable complete responses on sorafenib therapy. Predictive biomarkers for sorafenib response remain unknown, although dermatologic toxicity and non-viral etiology may be associated with favorable outcomes. These findings support the continued utility of tyrosine kinase inhibitors in selected patients, particularly when immunotherapy is contraindicated or unavailable.