Hepatic artery infusion chemotherapy combined with camrelizumab plus rivoceranib for hepatocellular carcinoma with portal vein tumor thrombosis: a multicenter propensity score-matching analysis

Portal vein tumor thrombosis (PVTT) signifies late-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with high-risk progression and poor prognosis. As a standard treatment, sorafenib monotherapy has limited the efficacy in managing HCC with PVTT. Currently, both hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy (HAIC) and the combination of camrelizumab and rivoceranib have shown favorable survival benefits for advanced HCC, surpassing the standard sorafenib treatment. In this study, we investigate the safety and efficacy of HAIC combined with camrelizumab and rivoceranib in treating HCC patients with PVTT. From January 2020 to December 2021, HCC patients with PVTT, who received either a triple regime of HAIC combined with camrelizumab and rivoceranib or a dual regime of camrelizumab and rivoceranib as their first-line treatment, were reviewed for eligibility at four hospital centers in China. To balance any intergroup differences, propensity score matching (PSM) was applied. The aim of this study is to compare the efficacy of the dual and triple combination treatment regimens based on survival prognosis and tumor response and evaluate the safety based on the occurrence of adverse reactions. In this study, a total of 411 patients who received either the triple treatment regime (HAIC combined with camrelizumab plus rivoceranib, referred to as the HAICCR group, n = 292) or the dual treatment regime (camrelizumab combined with rivoceranib, referred to as the CR group, n = 119) between January 2020 and December 2021 were included. The results showed that the HAICCR group exhibited significantly better overall survival (mOS: 19.60 months vs. 11.50 months, p < 0.0001) and progression-free survival (mPFS: 10.0 months vs. 5.6 months, p < 0.0001) compared to the CR group in the overall cohort. Moreover, the HAICCR group also had a significantly higher ORR (objective response rate, 55.5