Liver cancer

The trial met its co-primary endpoints, showing statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements in overall survival and progression-free survival compared to standard-of-care, Bayer’s Nexavar.

The drug failed to meet statistical significance for overall survival. However, the company is putting a positive spin on it, saying it showed a clear improvement trend in OS for patients treated with Opdivo compared to sorafenib.

Researchers with the Hubrecht Institute in Utrecht, Netherlands and Radboud University in Nijmegen, Netherlands, recently developed a human model using organoids to evaluate the function of specific genes commonly mutated in liver cancer.

The drug was approved as a second-line treatment for HCC patients who have an alpha-fetoprotein biomarker.

Keytruda failed to show a statistical significance in overall survival and progression free survival in the Phase III trial.

Luckily, primary malignant liver tumors in children are rare. They account for only 1 to 2 percent of all childhood cancers. The most common treatment is surgery and chemotherapy. However, not all can be treated by surgery and sometimes they do not respond to chemotherapy.