Cited by 1,576Hepatocellular Carcinoma Treatment and PrognosisCancer Immunotherapy and BiomarkersHepatitis B Virus Studies

Tremelimumab plus durvalumab in unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma

Open access
Abou-Alfa, Ghassan K., Lau, George, Kudo, Masatoshi, Chan, Stephen L., Kelley, Robin Kate, Furuse, Junji, Sukeepaisarnjaroen, Wattana, Kang, Yoon-Koo +23 more·2022·NEJM Evidence

Abstract

BACKGROUND: A single, high priming dose of tremelimumab (anti-cytotoxic T lymphocyte–associated antigen 4) plus durvalumab (anti–programmed cell death ligand-1), an infusion regimen termed STRIDE (Single Tremelimumab Regular Interval Durvalumab), showed encouraging clinical activity and safety in a phase 2 trial of unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma. METHODS: In this global, open-label, phase 3 trial, the majority of the patients we enrolled with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma and no previous systemic treatment were randomly assigned to receive one of three regimens: tremelimumab (300 mg, one dose) plus durvalumab (1500 mg every 4 weeks; STRIDE), durvalumab (1500 mg every 4 weeks), or sorafenib (400 mg twice daily). The primary objective was overall survival for STRIDE versus sorafenib. Noninferiority for overall survival for durvalumab versus sorafenib was a secondary objective. RESULTS: In total, 1171 patients were randomly assigned to STRIDE (n=393), durvalumab (n=389), or sorafenib (n=389). The median overall survival was 16.43 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 14.16 to 19.58) with STRIDE, 16.56 months (95% CI, 14.06 to 19.12) with durvalumab, and 13.77 months (95% CI, 12.25 to 16.13) with sorafenib. Overall survival at 36 months was 30.7%, 24.7%, and 20.2%, respectively. The overall survival hazard ratio for STRIDE versus sorafenib was 0.78 (96.02% CI, 0.65 to 0.93; P=0.0035). Overall survival with durvalumab monotherapy was noninferior to sorafenib (hazard ratio, 0.86; 95.67% CI, 0.73 to 1.03; noninferiority margin, 1.08). Median progression-free survival was not significantly different among all three groups. Grade 3/4 treatment-emergent adverse events occurred for 50.5% of patients with STRIDE, 37.1% with durvalumab, and 52.4% with sorafenib. CONCLUSIONS: STRIDE significantly improved overall survival versus sorafenib. Durvalumab monotherapy was noninferior to sorafenib for patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma. (Funded by AstraZeneca; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT03298451.)

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Crossref · 10.1056/evidoa2100070

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  • The response rate was 20% with durvalumab plus tremelimumab and 30% with atezolizumab plus bevacizumab, with median duration of response ranging from 18 months to 22 months.

    “The response rate was 20% with durvalumab plus tremelimumab and 30% with atezolizumab plus bevacizumab, with median duration of response ranging from 18 months to 22 months.”

    From Nivolumab plus ipilimumab versus lenvatinib or sorafenib as first-line treatment for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (CheckMate 9DW): an open-label, randomised, phase 3 trial (2025) · cites this paper as [7]

    The Secondary Efficacy End Points section reports a 20.1% confirmed objective response rate and a 22.3-month median duration of response for tremelimumab plus durvalumab (STRIDE). The paper does not report a 30% response rate or an 18-month median duration of response for atezolizumab plus bevacizumab; its Introduction mentions that regimen only in relation to overall survival. (LLM, conf=0.91)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • PD-L1 inhibitor-based regimens (atezolizumab plus bevacizumab and tremelimumab plus durvalumab) showed improved outcomes over sorafenib as first-line treatment for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma, with median overall survival ranging from 16 months to 19 months.

    “PD-L1 inhibitor-based regimens received approvals in 2020 (atezolizumab plus bevacizumab) and 2022 (tremelimumab plus durvalumab) as first-line treatment options for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma after showing improved outcomes over sorafenib, with median overall survival ranging from 16 months to 19 months.”

    From Nivolumab plus ipilimumab versus lenvatinib or sorafenib as first-line treatment for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (CheckMate 9DW): an open-label, randomised, phase 3 trial (2025) · cites this paper as [7]

    The Introduction says atezolizumab plus bevacizumab improved overall survival versus sorafenib, and the trial’s Abstract reports median overall survival of 16.43 months with tremelimumab plus durvalumab versus 13.77 months with sorafenib. Our copy does not establish a 19-month median for atezolizumab plus bevacizumab or the stated approval years. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • With PD-L1 inhibitors in this setting, median overall survival was 19.2 months with atezolizumab plus bevacizumab, 16.6 months with durvalumab monotherapy, and 16.4 months with tremelimumab plus durvalumab.

    “With the introduction of PD-L1 inhibitors in this setting, survival benefits versus sorafenib were improved with a median overall survival of 19•2 months with atezolizumab plus bevacizumab, 9,10 16•6 months with durvalumab monotherapy, and 16•4 months with tremelimumab plus durvalumab, 7,8 leading to regulatory”

    From Nivolumab plus ipilimumab versus lenvatinib or sorafenib as first-line treatment for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (CheckMate 9DW): an open-label, randomised, phase 3 trial (2025) · cites this paper as [7]

    The Abstract reports median overall survival of 16.56 months with durvalumab monotherapy and 16.43 months with tremelimumab plus durvalumab, matching the cited figures when rounded. The Superiority Analysis reports improved survival versus sorafenib for the combination, but the Noninferiority Analysis says durvalumab monotherapy did not demonstrate superiority versus sorafenib. The atezolizumab–bevacizumab figure is attached to different citations in the citing sentence. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • At the RP2D, the safety profile was consistent with the known safety profile of durvalumab in combination with tremelimumab in adult patients, and no new safety signals were identified in the pediatric population.

    “At the RP2D, the safety profile was consistent with the known safety profile of durvalumab in combination with tremelimumab in adult patients (13, 14), and no new safety signals were identified in our pediatric population.”
  • Durvalumab plus tremelimumab improved overall survival compared with sorafenib alone in adults with unresectable hepatocellular cancer.

    “durvalumab plus tremelimumab has demonstrated improved OS compared with sorafenib alone in adults with unresectable hepatocellular cancer (14).”

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Research works printed but not linked: 1

  1. [20]20. Eroglu Z, Kim DW, Wang X, et al. Long term survival with cyto- toxic T lymphocyteassociated antigen 4 blockade using tremelimu- mab. Eur J Cancer 2015;51:2689-2697. DOI: 10.1016/j.ejca.2015. 08.012. · DOI

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Authors
Abou-Alfa, G. K., Lau, G., Kudo, M., Chan, S. L., Kelley, R. K., Furuse, J., Sukeepaisarnjaroen, W., Kang, Y.-K., Van Dao, T., De Toni, E. N., Rimassa, L., Breder, V., Vasilyev, A., Heurgué, A., Tam, V. C., Mody, K., Thungappa, S. C., Ostapenko, Y., Yau, T., Azevedo, S., Varela, M., Cheng, A.-L., Qin, S., Galle, P. R., Ali, S., Marcovitz, M., Makowsky, M., He, P., Kurland, J. F., Negro, A., & Sangro, B.
Affiliations
  • Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York
  • Humanity & Health (CN)
  • Kindai University Hospital (JP)
  • Chinese University of Hong Kong (HK)
  • University of California, San Francisco (US)
  • Kyorin University (JP)
  • Khon Kaen University (TH)
  • Asan Medical Center (KR)
  • Cancer Research and Clinical Trials Center, Department of Optimal Therapy, National Cancer Hospital, Hanoi, Vietnam
  • Department of Medicine II, University Hospital, Ludwig Maximilian University Munich, Munich, Germany
  • Humanitas University (IT)
  • Russian Cancer Research Center NN Blokhin (RU)
  • Department of Oncology, Railway Clinical Hospital, St. Petersburg, Russia
  • Department of Hepato-Gastroenterology, Robert-Debré Hospital, Reims, France
  • University of Calgary (CA)
  • Mayo Clinic (US)
  • Sri Venkateshwara Hospital, Bangalore, India
  • National Cancer Institute (UA)
  • Queen Mary Hospital (CN)
  • Unidade de Pesquisa em Oncologia Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, Brazil
  • Liver Unit, Hospital Universitario Central de Asturias, Universidad de Oviedo, Instituto Universitario de Oncología del Principado de Asturias–Obra Social Cajastur, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria del Principado de Asturias, Fundación para la Investigación y la Innovación Biosanitaria del Principado de Asturia, Oviedo, Spain
  • National Taiwan University (TW)
  • 81th Hospital of PLA (CN)
  • University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (DE)
  • AstraZeneca (United States) (US)
  • Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas (ES)
Venue
NEJM Evidence
Published
2022-07-26
Volume
1
Issue
8
Pages
EVIDoa2100070-EVIDoa2100070
ISSN
2766-5526 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W4281645619
Cited by
1,576
References
23
Citations by year
2026: 356 · 2025: 450 · 2024: 421 · 2023: 284 · 2022: 63 · 2021: 1
FWCI
181.48
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • NEJM Evidence (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
AstraZeneca
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Hepatology › Hepatocellular Carcinoma Treatment and Prognosis
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Oncology › Cancer Immunotherapy and Biomarkers
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Hepatitis B Virus Studies
Keywords
tremelimumab, durvalumab, hepatocellular carcinoma, unresectable liver cancer, CTLA-4 blockade, PD-L1 blockade, sorafenib, overall survival, non-inferiority, immune checkpoint inhibitors, combination immunotherapy, progression-free survival, treatment-emergent adverse events, immune-related adverse events, non-small cell lung cancer
MeSH terms
Antineoplastic Agents, Immunological, Sorafenib, Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Antibodies, Monoclonal, Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols, Female, Carcinoma, Hepatocellular, Humans, Liver Neoplasms, Male, Middle Aged, Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized

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