Hepatocellular Carcinoma
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Sep 28 – Oct 05, 2026
Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor-Based Downstaging Therapy for Hepatocellular Carcinoma.
JAMA ONCOL · Q1 JOURNAL - RANK #14/326TOP-TIER
This multicenter, retrospective matched cohort study investigated an immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI)-based multimodal pretransplant strategy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) initially beyond Milan criteria, evaluating posttransplant oncologic outcomes. Among 416 recipients, the ICI group demonstrated significantly better median overall survival (4.57 vs 2.53 years, P<.001) and recurrence-free survival (1.47 vs 0.89 years, P=.02), with lower recurrence risk (HR 0.54). These findings are highly relevant for cancer clinicians, suggesting improved survival and reduced recurrence in advanced HCC patients receiving ICI-based downstaging before liver transplant. The study implies that this strategy could be valuable for selected HCC patients, despite an increased acute rejection rate (16.3% vs 8.2%).
10.1001/jamaoncol.2026.3901
Histologic Features and Clinical Outcomes of Lean Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease.
JAMA-J AM MED ASSOC · Q1 JOURNAL - RANK #4/332TOP-TIER
This multinational retrospective study characterized lean Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD) in 18,326 patients, evaluating clinical features, histology, prognosis, and noninvasive fibrosis tests. Lean MASLD (6.7% by BMI) showed milder histologic disease and less advanced fibrosis (29.3% vs 37.2%) than overweight/obese MASLD. While lean status was not independently associated with clinical events including hepatocellular carcinoma (aHR 0.94), advanced fibrosis (F3-F4) significantly predicted these adverse outcomes (aHR 3.41). This emphasizes that fibrosis severity, not body composition, drives prognosis in MASLD, underscoring the critical role of fibrosis assessment, like reliable LSM in lean individuals, for identifying patients at higher HCC risk.
10.1001/jama.2026.18491
Aug 24 – Aug 31, 2026
Durvalumab and tremelimumab, with or without lenvatinib, combined with transarterial chemoembolisation in participants with embolisation-eligible hepatocellular carcinoma (EMERALD-3): a global, randomised, open-label, sponsor-blinded, phase 3 study.
LANCET ONCOL · Q1 JOURNAL - RANK #8/326TOP-TIER
This phase 3 trial (EMERALD-3) randomized 760 patients with embolisation-eligible hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) to receive durvalumab plus tremelimumab (STRIDE) with lenvatinib and TACE, STRIDE plus TACE, or TACE alone. The primary endpoint, progression-free survival (PFS), was significantly improved with the triple combination versus TACE alone (median 13.0 vs 9.8 months; HR 0.70, p=0.0007). Overall survival showed a favorable trend but was not statistically significant (median 39.5 vs 34.7 months; HR 0.84, p=0.18). Grade 3-4 adverse events were more common with the triple regimen (64% serious adverse events), including hypertension and rare fatal treatment-related events. These findings support a STRIDE-based regimen as a potential new treatment for embolisation-eligible HCC, with ongoing follow-up for overall survival.
10.1016/S1470-2045(26)00278-0
Aug 17 – Aug 24, 2026
Liver resection after atezolizumab and bevacizumab versus maintenance therapy for locally advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (TALENTOP): a multicentre, open-label, randomised, phase 3 trial.
LANCET · Q1 JOURNAL - RANK #1/332TOP-TIER
This multicentre, phase 3 trial (TALENTOP) evaluated whether liver resection improves outcomes compared to maintenance therapy in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and macrovascular invasion who responded to induction atezolizumab plus bevacizumab. Among 201 randomized patients, the surgery group demonstrated a significantly longer median time to treatment failure (20.4 months) compared to the maintenance group (11.8 months; HR 0.60, p=0.015). The study addresses the gap in high-quality evidence for surgical intervention in advanced-stage cancer patients who show initial response to systemic therapy. Findings suggest that integrating liver resection into the treatment paradigm for advanced HCC can delay disease progression, though clinicians must weigh this against higher rates of grade 3–4 adverse events (39% vs 21%).
10.1016/S0140-6736(26)01252-3
Jul 27 – Aug 03, 2026
Transarterial Chemoembolization Plus Thermal Ablation in Unresectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma: The Phase 3 TORCH Randomized Clinical Trial.
JAMA ONCOL · Q1 JOURNAL - RANK #14/326TOP-TIER
The phase 3 TORCH randomized clinical trial evaluated if combining transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) with thermal ablation improves outcomes versus TACE alone in 241 patients with unresectable, liver-confined hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The TACE-ablation group showed significantly prolonged median progression-free survival (17.7 months vs 7.3 months; HR, 0.47; P < .001) and overall survival (88.6 months vs 35.1 months; HR, 0.50; P < .001) compared to TACE alone. These findings are highly relevant to cancer research, demonstrating a superior treatment strategy for HCC with clinically meaningful survival improvements. Sequential TACE-ablation could become a feasible and more effective treatment option for patients with unresectable HCC, particularly those with low to moderate tumor burden.
10.1001/jamaoncol.2026.2366