Assessment of the Efficacy of Lenvatinib Versus Sorafenib in the Management of Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma - An Open-label Randomized Clinical Control Trial in a Tertiary Care Hospital.

1. Introduction:

Hepatocellular carcinoma is one of the most common type of liver cancer, which is the 3rd leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. The incidence is expected to increase as a consequence of chronic liver disease with its multiple risk factors, including chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections, excessive alcohol consumption, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, hemochromatosis, drugs and aflatoxin B1. It is estimated that 70%-90% of patients with HCC have chronic liver disease and cirrhosis, which limits the feasibility of surgical procedures in advanced cases. There are limited treatment options for HCC patients who are ineligible for surgical resection. Locoregional therapies, such as radiofrequency ablation (RFA), transarterial chemoembolization (TACE), transarterial embolization (TAE), or hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy (HAIC), are primarily recommended, and if one of those fail, then systemic therapy is considered. The 2013 Japan Society of Hepatology HCC Guidelines outlined that the factors influencing treatment decisions should be based on the degree of liver damage (Child-Pugh), presence or absence of extrahepatic spread and macrovascular invasion, the number of tumors, and tumor diameter. Sorafenib has been the standard of care since 2007, when the SHARP trial demonstrated that sorafenib improved median overall survival (OS) compared to placebo in patients who had not received prior systemic therapy (10.7 vs 7.9 months, HR =0.69, P<0.001). In patients from the Asia-Pacific region taking sorafenib, the median improvement in overall survival compared with placebo was 2.3 months (6.5 months vs 4.2 months; HR 0.68; p=0.014). Drug development for hepatocellular carcinoma in the past 10 years has been marked by four failed global phase 3 trials (of sunitinib, brivanib, linifanib, and erlotinib plus sorafenib) that did not show non inferiority. Sorafenib, an oral multikinase inhibitor, has been the only systemic therapy demonstrated to extend overall survibility as a firstline treatment, showing a median improvement of 2.8 months compared with placebo (10.7 months vs. 7.9 months; hazard ratio [HR] 0.69; p\0.001). Inpatients from the Asia-Pacific region taking sorafenib, the median OS (mOS) improvement compared with placebo was 2.3 months (HR 0.68; p = 0.014). The use of other molecularly targeted agents has not demonstrated efficacy via non-inferiority or superiority to sorafenib; thus, until the appearance of lenvatinib, sorafenib has also been widely used as the first-line treatment for HCC patients in Japan. Recently, regorafenib and Nivolumab were approved as a second-line systemic treatment for patients who do not respond to the first-line treatments. Otherwise, best supportive care or participation in clinical trials is recommended in the second-line setting by treatment guidelines. Chemotherapy in combination with sorafenib (doxorubicin), and radioembolization with SIR Spheres Y-90 resin microspheres failed to demonstrate a survival benefit or showed a worse safety profile compared to sorafenib in the first-line setting. Eventually, the PhaseIII non-inferiority REFLECT trial showed that lenvatinib was non-inferior compared to sorafenib. 2. Objectives

2.1 General objectives:

To assess and compare the efficacy of Lenvatinib versus Sorafenib in the management of Hepatitis B virus related Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

2.2 Specific objectives: