Oxaliplatin Plus S-1Versus Sorafenib Alone In Patients With Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma

ObjectiveTo evaluate the outcome and safety of patients with advancedhepatocellular carcinoma treated with the SOX regimen (oxaliplatin+S-1) andthose treated with sorafenib in a single-center cohort.Patients and MethodsThis retrospective study included patients with advanced hepatocellularcarcinoma treated with sorafenib (400mg, bid) or the regimen of SOX(oxaliplatin100-130mg/m2on day1and S-140-60mg/m2, b.i.d on days1-14,every3weeks) from January,2011to March,2013in our hospital. We evaluatedresponse rate (RR), progression free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), andtoxicity profiles.ResultsThis retrospective study involved a total of42patients with advanced HCC,22of which were treated with SOX regimen and20were daily treated withsorafenib. The median progression-free survival was3.6months(95%confidence interval [CI],1.7to5.6) with SOX and1.7months (95%CI,1.5to1.9) with sorafenib, respectively (P=0.444). The median overall survival inSOX and sorafenib group was7.6months (95%CI,4.3to10.9) and4.7months(95%CI,2.7to7.3), respectively (P=0.246). Response rate was22.2%withSOX and5.6%with sorafenib, respectively (P=0.154). The frequent sideeffects in SOX-treated patients were thrombocytopenia(45.5%vs.5%, P= 0.003), elevation of transaminase levels(45.5%vs.5%, P=0.003) andneuropathy(36.4%vs.5%, P=0.036), whereas hand–foot syndrome(60%vs.0%,P=0.000), diarrhea(60%vs.0%, P=0.000) and pruritus(40%vs.0%, P=0.004)were common in sorafenib-treated patients.ConclusionThese preliminary results suggest that the SOX regimen may serve as aneffective treatment for patients with advanced HCC, which treatment outcomesmay not be inferior to sorafenib, and the treatment-related toxicities weregenerally well-tolerated..