Update results from ALTER-H004 study: Anlotinib combined with TACE as adjuvant therapy in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) at high risk of recurrence after surgery: A single arm, multi-center, phase II clinical trial.

513Background: High recurrence rate after curative resection significantly compromised the long-term survival of patients with HCC patients (pts). TACE as adjuvant therapy was proved to improve clinical outcomes for pts with high recurrence risk factors after hepatectomy. However, the prognosis of TACE reminded unsatisfactory and controversial. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the efficacy and safety of anlotinib as maintenance adjuvant treatment following inductional TACE in pts with HCC. The update results were reported here with longer follow-up duration. Methods: HCC pts with one of the following high risk factors after hepatectomy: ≥5 cm and <10 cm of tumor diameter, tumor number ≥3, tumor microvascular invasion M1 or M2, portal vein tumor thrombus resection (Cheng's classification I/II) were recruited. Eligible pts received cTACE treatment within 1-2 months after hepatectomy, on the 3-5th day after cTACE, oral anlotinib (12mg, qd, d1-d14, q3w) was given until disease recurrence or unacceptable toxicity. The predefined sample size was 30. The primary endpoint was disease free survival (DFS). Secondary endpoints included 1-year DFS rate, time to recurrence and safety. Results: The data cut-off date was March 2023, 29 pts were enrolled and 27 pts received at least once tumor assessment. The median follow-up was 21.8 (IQR, 17.3-26.3) months. Of 27 with assessable efficacy, mDFS was 24.2 (95% CI, not applicable-not applicable) months, with 12-, and 24-month DFS rates of 72.2% (95% CI, 50.4%-85.7), and 61.8% (95% CI, 38.8%-78.3%), respectively. 18 of 27 pts (66.7%) experienced treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs). Grade 3 TRAEs occurred in 4 pts (14.8%) included hypertension (7.4%), leukocytopenia (7.4%) and ascites (3.7%). No grade 4 or 5 TRAEs occurred. Conclusions: Anlotinib combined with TACE as adjuvant therapy in HCC pts at high recurrence risk exhibited encouraging efficacy and tolerable safety profile. And the conclusions needed to be confirmed in large scale clinical trials subsequently. Clinical trial information: NCT04213118.