Copyright: ©Author(s) 2026. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. No commercial re-use. See permissions. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc.
World J Gastrointest Surg. Jun 27, 2026; 18(6): 119272
Published online Jun 27, 2026. doi: 10.4240/wjgs.119272
Published online Jun 27, 2026. doi: 10.4240/wjgs.119272
Efficacy and safety of adjuvant targeted immunotherapy for hepatocellular carcinoma with high recurrence risks after hepatectomy
Qi-Sen Li, An-Yin Hu, Shao-Jie Chen, Gong-Jin Yu, Yi Fan, Yi-Gang Chen, She Tian, Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Guizhou Hospital of the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen Uni
Ci-Jun Peng, Min Han, Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang 550001, Guizhou Province, China
Co-first authors: Qi-Sen Li and An-Yin Hu.
Co-corresponding authors: Ci-Jun Peng and Min Han.
Author contributions: Li QS and Hu AY contributed to writing - original draft, and they contributed equally to this manuscript and are co-first authors; Li QS, Hu AY, and Chen SJ contributed to data curation and validation; Li QS, Hu AY, Chen SJ, and Tian S contributed to methodology; Li QS, Hu AY, Chen YG, Peng CJ, and Han M contributed to writing - review and editing; Li QS, Tian S, Peng CJ, and Han M contributed to investigation; Yu GJ and Fan Y contributed to formal analysis and resources; Peng CJ and Han M contributed to conceptualization, project administration, and supervision, they contributed equally to this manuscript and are co-corresponding authors. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Supported by Guizhou Provincial Science and Technology Plan Project, No. Qian-KH-[2024]-Youth-009.
Institutional review board statement: The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University.
Informed consent statement: Because this is a retrospective study, the ethics review committee waived the requirement for relevant informed consent.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement-checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement-checklist of items.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
Corresponding author: Ci-Jun Peng, PhD, Professor, Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou Medical University, No. 28 Guiyi Street, Guiyang 550001, Gui
Received: January 23, 2026
Revised: February 11, 2026
Accepted: March 17, 2026
Published online: June 27, 2026
Processing time: 149 Days and 13.5 Hours
Revised: February 11, 2026
Accepted: March 17, 2026
Published online: June 27, 2026
Processing time: 149 Days and 13.5 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: This retrospective cohort study demonstrates that adjuvant targeted and/or immunotherapy can significantly improve recurrence-free survival in hepatocellular carcinoma patients at high risk of recurrence after hepatectomy, compared to surgery alone. The therapy was identified as an independent protective factor against recurrence. While a clear overall survival benefit was not observed in this analysis, the treatment regimen showed a manageable safety profile, with most adverse events being reversible. These findings support the potential role of this adjuvant strategy in improving outcomes for this patient population.