Comparative Effectiveness of Atezolizumab Plus Bevacizumab Versus Tremelimumab Plus Durvalumab in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) in a Real-World Setting

Abstract

Background: There are no studies that directly compare atezolizumab plus bevacizumab and tremelimumab plus durvalumab (STRIDE), two first-line options for the systemic therapy of advanced hepatocarcinoma (HCC). Objective: We conducted a real-world retrospective analysis to compare the clinical efficacies of these two regimens. Patients and Methods: Using TriNetX data on patients with HCC at Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stages B or C, the analysis included patients treated with atezolizumab plus bevacizumab or with the STRIDE regimen. The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS) comparing the two treatment groups. Results: Before applying propensity-score matching, a total of 2,307 consecutive patients were identified. Among them, 1,998 received atezolizumab plus bevacizumab, and 309 were treated with STRIDE. After matching, 618 patients remained, with 309 in each cohort. The analysis showed no significant difference between the two treatments: median OS was 15.4 months (95% confidence interval (CI) 14.7–51.6) and 15.5 months (95% CI 15.0–47.0) for patients treated with atezolizumab plus bevacizumab versus STRIDE, respectively (HR 0.94; 95% CI 0.73–1.22, p = 0.67). The univariate analyses of baseline clinical and laboratory characteristics indicated that the only differentiating factor between the two regimens was better survival for females receiving atezolizumab plus bevacizumab (HR 1.77; 95% CI 1.00–3.16, p = 0.04). Conclusions: Atezolizumab plus bevacizumab and STRIDE demonstrated no statistical difference in OS, showing them to be equally valid alternatives for patients with advanced HCC.