Publications by authors named "Hong-Jae Chon"

Background And Aims: The outcome of patients with HCC who achieved complete response (CR) to immune-checkpoint inhibitor (ICI)-based systemic therapies is unclear.

Approach And Results: Retrospective study of patients with HCC who had CR according to modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (CR-mRECIST) to ICI-based systemic therapies from 28 centers in Asia, Europe, and the United States. Of 3933 patients with HCC treated with ICI-based noncurative systemic therapies, 174 (4.

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Background & Aims: Surgery is the only curative therapeutic option for resectable extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, but recurrence is common, and prognosis is poor. There is an unmet clinical need for improved decision-making regarding adjuvant chemotherapy (ACT). Herein, we evaluated the usefulness of monitoring longitudinal circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) for molecular residual disease (MRD) in patients from the STAMP trial, which compares the efficacy of adjuvant capecitabine (CAP) vs.

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Recent clinical outcomes of multi-regimen chemotherapy in patients with cholangiocarcinoma (CCC) have shown benefits in terms of overall survival. However, repeated endoscopic biliary drainage (EBD) and serious adverse events negatively affect prolongation of the survival period. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of massive hemobilia and the outcomes of its management with fully covered self-expandable metal stents (FC-SEMSs) in patients with hilum-involving CCC receiving multi-regimen chemotherapy.

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Background & Aims: Recent advances in molecular profiling have enabled the identification of potential therapeutic targets for biliary tract cancer (BTC). However, in patients with BTC, molecular profiling is hindered by challenges in obtaining adequate tissue samples. Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) may offer an alternative to tissue-based analysis.

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  • - The study explores the use of an oncolytic reovirus (RC402) administered orally to stimulate antitumor immunity in advanced cancers, showing no major side effects while effectively reducing tumor lesions.
  • - The orally delivered reovirus interacts with the immune system, enhancing antibody production, reshaping the gut microbiome, and promoting immune activation, though it doesn't directly infect tumors outside the gastrointestinal tract.
  • - Combining oral reovirus treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors (like αPD-1 and αCTLA-4) significantly enhances tumor regression and establishes lasting immune memory, highlighting its potential as an effective immunotherapy approach in cancer treatment.
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  • In the TOPAZ-1 trial, patients with biliary tract cancers (BTC) who had recurrence within 6 months of surgery were excluded, which often happens in practice. This study looked into the effectiveness of cisplatin-gemcitabine-durvalumab (CGD) in patients who did experience early recurrence.
  • The study enrolled 178 BTC patients who had surgery and then underwent treatment with CGD after experiencing either early or late disease recurrence. Key goals were to measure overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS).
  • Results showed no significant differences in OS and PFS between early and late relapse groups, suggesting CGD is effective regardless of when the cancer
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  • Biliary tract cancers (BTCs) have an immune system that doesn't respond well to standard PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors, but adding bevacizumab to chemotherapy may enhance immune responses.
  • A phase II study involving 162 patients evaluated the effects of adding bevacizumab to atezolizumab and standard chemotherapy (cisplatin and gemcitabine), focusing on progression-free survival (PFS) as the main outcome.
  • Results showed that the PFS was slightly better for patients receiving bevacizumab (8.3 months) compared to placebo (7.9 months), but overall survival (OS) was similar in both groups, indicating a modest benefit in PFS without an impact on OS. *
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Introduction: The most frequently used first-line treatment in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is atezolizumab plus bevacizumab. Upon progression after this treatment, the standard of care in many countries is sorafenib, due to the lack of reimbursement for other drugs. Several randomized trials are currently underway to clarify the best second-line therapy in patients with HCC.

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  • * A retrospective analysis of 885 HCC patients showed no significant differences in overall survival, time to progression, or disease control rates between viral and nonviral patients treated with the combination therapy.
  • * Common prognostic factors were identified across both groups, but there might be some stronger associations between immunological factors and outcomes specifically in viral patients, while treatment-related toxicities and second-line treatments showed nearly identical results for both etiology subgroups.
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  • The study investigates the impact of hepatic functional reserve and tumor progression on overall survival in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) undergoing combination immunotherapy with atezolizumab and bevacizumab.
  • Out of 571 patients analyzed, a significant portion developed tumor progression, while a smaller group experienced hepatic decompensation, both of which greatly affected survival outcomes.
  • Key predictors of poor survival included hepatic decompensation, advanced tumor progression, and specific baseline liver function metrics, with effective antiviral treatment showing potential protective effects against decompensation in patients with viral causes of HCC.
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Importance: Whether patients with Child-Pugh class B (CP-B) cancer with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (uHCC) benefit from active anticancer treatment vs best supportive care (BSC) is debated.

Objective: To evaluate the association of immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI)-based therapies vs BSC with overall survival (OS) of patients with uHCC and CP-B liver dysfunction.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This retrospective, multicenter, international clinical case series examined data of patients with CP-B with uHCC who were receiving first-line ICI-based regimens from September 2017 to December 2022 whose data were extracted from an international consortium and compared with a cohort of patients with CP-B receiving BSC.

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Background: The TOPAZ-1 phase III trial showed a survival benefit with durvalumab plus gemcitabine and cisplatin in patients with advanced biliary tract cancer (BTC). To understand this combination's real-world efficacy and tolerability, we conducted a global multicenter retrospective analysis of its first-line treatment outcomes.

Methods: We included patients with unresectable, locally advanced, or metastatic BTC treated with durvalumab, gemcitabine, and cisplatin at 39 sites in 11 countries (Europe, the United States, and Asia).

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Purpose: Since 2020, atezolizumab plus bevacizumab (Ate/Bev) has been the standard first-line therapy for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but long-term treatment studies are limited. This study evaluated the clinical characteristics and effects of Ate/Bev for over 1 year.

Materials And Methods: This study included patients with unresectable HCC treated with first-line Ate/Bev between May 2020 and April 2022.

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  • * The research identified independent prognostic factors affecting overall survival and progression-free survival, notably the severity of decreased appetite, immunotoxicity, diarrhea, fatigue, arterial hypertension, and proteinuria.
  • * The findings underscore a significant relationship between the occurrence of AEs and therapy outcomes in HCC patients, similar to what has been observed in other treatment contexts, highlighting the importance of monitoring AEs for prognosis.
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  • * Clinical guidelines for managing this cancer type were developed by the Korean Society of Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic Surgery in collaboration with several other medical societies.
  • * A finalized draft of the guidelines was completed in November 2021 and is expected to improve patient treatment outcomes.
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  • A study investigated how the combination therapy of atezolizumab/bevacizumab affects different organs in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), revealing that liver and extrahepatic lesions respond variably to treatment.
  • Among 131 patients, the overall response rate (ORR) was 29%, with notable effectiveness in less than 5 cm liver tumors (35.6% ORR).
  • The findings suggest that this combination therapy could enhance responses in liver tumors, which typically show resistance to single-agent immunotherapy, indicating a potential breakthrough in treating advanced HCC.
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The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has proven challenging to the management of patients with cancer, particularly those receiving systemic therapy. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treated with atezolizumab/bevacizumab. Patients with unresectable HCC who started atezolizumab/bevacizumab treatment between June 2020 and December 2021 at a tertiary cancer center in Korea were included ( = 241) and classified according to their COVID-19 status and severity.

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  • - The study investigates the outcomes of second-line systemic treatments (sorafenib and lenvatinib) for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after patients experience disease progression on the recommended first-line therapy, atezolizumab plus bevacizumab (ATE+BEV).
  • - Out of 126 patients analyzed, results showed that although the objective response rate was similar for both treatment groups, lenvatinib significantly outperformed sorafenib in disease control rates and progression-free survival (PFS).
  • - Overall survival (OS) was similar between the two treatments, indicating that while lenvatinib may improve disease management post-ATE+BEV, further research is needed for better treatment strategies.
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Regorafenib has anti-tumor activity in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (uHCC) with potential immunomodulatory effects, suggesting that its combination with immune checkpoint inhibitor may have clinically meaningful benefits in patients with uHCC. The multicenter, single-arm, phase 2 RENOBATE trial tested regorafenib-nivolumab as front-line treatment for uHCC. Forty-two patients received nivolumab 480 mg every 4 weeks and regorafenib 80 mg daily (3-weeks-on/1-week-off schedule).

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Introduction: Atezolizumab and bevacizumab (Ate/Bev) combination has become the new first-line systemic therapy for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Although several studies reported thyroid dysfunction after treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors, the clinical and immunological significance of thyroid dysfunction in patients treated with Ate/Bev has not been comprehensively addressed. We aimed to comprehensively evaluate the clinical and immunological implications of thyroid dysfunction in unresectable HCC patients treated with Ate/Bev.

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Background & Aims: Sex-related differences in the immune pathogenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), particularly related to oestrogen-dependent secretion of pro-tumourigenic cytokines, are well-known. Whether sex influences the efficacy and safety of immunotherapy is not known.

Methods: We performed a restricted maximum likelihood random effects meta-analysis of five phase III trials that evaluated immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in advanced HCC and reported overall survival (OS) hazard ratios (HRs) stratified by sex to evaluate sex-related differences in OS.

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Background: Data concerning the use of lenvatinib in very old patients (≥ 80 years) are limited, although the incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in this patient population is constantly increasing.

Objective: This analysis aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of lenvatinib in a large cohort of very old patients (≥ 80 years) with unresectable HCC.

Patients And Methods: The study was conducted on a cohort of 1325 patients from 46 centers in four Western and Eastern countries (Italy, Germany, Japan, and the Republic of Korea) who were undergoing first-line treatment with lenvatinib between July 2010 and February 2022.

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