This is a single-arm clinical trial. The main objective is to determine the efficacy of atezolizumab+bevacizumab therapy in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma and with chronic hepatitis B virus infection. All eligible patients will receive atezolizumab + bevacizumab therapy.
Combination of atezolizumab, an immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI), and bevacizumab, an anti-angiogenic antibody, has shown promising anti-tumor activity and good safety profile in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and good liver function reserves (Child-Pugh class A). Currently all trials of ICI-based therapy for HCC enrolled only patients with very low HBV viral loads if they had chronic HBV infection because of the concern of the risk of HBV reactivation on the severity and management of liver-related adverse events, particularly immune-related hepatitis. The investigators hypothesize that in patients with advanced HCC, chronic HBV infection, and adequate liver function reserves, the safety profile of ICI-based therapy should be similar to those in other patient populations as long as prophylactic anti-HBV treatment is given, regardless the baseline HBV viral load. This is because in patients with patients with lymphoma and chronic HBV infection, who have the highest risk of HBV reactivation after cytotoxic or immunosuppressive therapy, no HBV-related complications of clinical significance were noted as long as prophylactic anti-HBV treatment started before the administration of cytotoxic or immunosuppressive therapy. This is a single-arm clinical trial. Key eligibility criteria will include the following: histologically proven, locally advanced or metastatic and/or unresectable HCC that is not amenable to curative surgical and/or locoregional therapies; no prior systemic therapy for HCC; documented chronic HBV infection with HBV DNA \> 2000 IU/mL obtained within 28 days prior to initiation of study treatment; at least one measurable (per RECIST 1.1) lesion; ECOG Performance Status of 0 or 1; and Child-Pugh class A. All eligible patients will receive atezolizumab 1200 mg IV plus bevacizumab 15 mg/kg IV on day 1 every 3 weeks. Study treatment will continue until documented tumor progression or occurrence of unacceptable toxicity. All eligible subjects will receive anti-HBV treatment (per local standard of care; e.g., entecavir) prior to start of study treatment and continue anti-HBV treatment for the length of the study. The primary endpoint is overall response rate defined as a complete or partial response, as determined by the investigator according to RECIST v1.1. The secondary endpoints will include safety measures (e.g., the proportion of subjects with ≥ grade 3 liver-related adverse events (AE) (according to NCI CTCAE v5.0), incidence and severity of all adverse events/ immune-related adverse events, incidence of HBV reactivation/ HBV-related hepatitis flare) and efficacy measures (e.g., objective response rate, progression-free survival, duration of response, and overall survival). This study plan to enroll 48 evaluable subjects, defined as subjects who receive 3 cycles of study treatment and the first image evaluation for tumor response. The estimated time of enrollment will be 2 years.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NA
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
51
Atezolizumab 1200 mg IV on day 1 every 3 weeks
Bevacizumab 15 mg/kg IV on day 1 every 3 weeks
Chang Gung Memorial Hospital
Linkou District, Taiwan
China Medical University Hospital
Taichung, Taiwan
Taichung Veterans General Hospital
Taichung, Taiwan
National Cheng Kung University Hospital
Tainan, Taiwan
Best overall response rate
Complete or partial response, as determined by the investigator according to RECIST v1.1
Time frame: The last patient in has been treated for 6 months. All patients who have a PR or CR before that are responders
Proportion of subjects with ≥ grade 3 liver-related adverse events (AE)
Proportion of subjects with ≥ grade 3 liver-related adverse events (AE) according to NCI CTCAE v5.0
Time frame: 12 weeks after the first drug administration.
Incidence and severity of total AE, liver related AE, and liver immune-related AE
Any new untoward medical occurrence or worsening of a preexisting medical condition in a clinical investigation participant administered study drug and that does not necessarily have a causal relationship with this treatment
Time frame: 30 days after the last dose of study treatment or until initiation of new systemic anti-cancer therapy, whichever occurs first
HBV reactivation
(1) HBV DNA increase of ≧ 100 folds than baseline level, regardless of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) changes; (2) HBV DNA increase of ≧ 10 folds than baseline level, associated with significant ALT changes (defined as ≧ 3-fold increase in ALT, compared with baseline levels, and increase in ≧ 1 grade defined by CTCAE5.0); and (3) 2 consecutive increase in HBV DNA of ≧ 100 folds than previous nadir level, regardless of ALT changes.
Time frame: Baseline up to approximately 2.5years.
HBV-related hepatitis flare
HBV reactivation plus ≧ 3-fold increase in alanine aminotransferase (ALT), compared with baseline levels, and increase in ≧ 1 grade defined by CTCAE v 5.0
Time frame: Every 4 weeks for 6 months in permanent discontinuation of study drug treatment
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Mackay Memorial Hospital
Taipei, Taiwan
National Taiwan University Hospital
Taipei, Taiwan
Taipei Veterans General Hospital
Taipei, Taiwan
Progression-free survival
The time from registration to the first occurrence of disease progression or death from any cause (whichever occurs first)
Time frame: The time from registration to the first occurrence of disease progression or death from any cause (whichever occurs first assessed up to 100 months)
Time to tumor progression
The time from registration to the first occurrence of disease progression
Time frame: The time from registration to the first occurrence of disease progression assessed up to 100 months
Duration of response
The time from the first occurrence of a documented objective response to disease progression or death from any cause (whichever occurs first)
Time frame: The time from the first occurrence of a documented objective response to disease progression or death from any cause (whichever occurs first assessed up to 100 months)
Disease stabilization rate
Complete response + partial response + stable disease lasting for ≧16 weeks
Time frame: Complete response + partial response + stable disease lasting for ≧16 weeks approximately1years.
AFP response
≥ 20% decrease from baseline at the first response assessment
Time frame: 9 weeks ± 1 week after the first drug administration
Overall survival
The time from registration to death from any cause
Time frame: The time from registration to death from any cause assessed up to 100 months