The American Society for Clinical Oncology Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium (ASCO GI) was held in San Francisco, USA 18-20 January this year. At the conference, positive data ¹ a from the EMERALD-1 Phase III trial (NCT03778957)² was spotlighted. This trial is evaluating IMFINZI® (durvalumab, a therapeutic antibody) in combination with TACE (transarterial chemoembolization) and bevacizumab (another therapeutic antibody) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) eligible for embolization. Results showed that addition of the antibodies to TACE reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 23% compared to TACE alone in this setting. As announced late last year, this marks the first time a global Phase III trial has demonstrated improved clinical outcomes for systemic therapy in combination with TACE in the given setting. IMFINZI-based treatment combinations are approved for locally advanced or metastatic biliary tract cancer (BTC) and unresectable HCC. Although TACE has been the standard of care for over 20 years in patients in earlier stages of liver cancer, rates of disease progression remain high in patients who receive TACE alone. The results from the EMERALD-1 trial suggest that the combination of IMFINZI, TACE and bevacizumab could reduce the risk of disease progression in earlier stages of liver cancer.

 [1]https://ascopubs.org/doi/10.1200/JCO.2024.42.3_suppl.LBA432

 [2]https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT0377895

Author:
Lili Gundelach