Positive phase III trial results for PD-1 inhibitor tislelizumab in first-line unresectable hepatocellular cancer (liver cancer)

HCC is the sixth most common type of cancer worldwide, accounting for more than 900,000 new cases in 2020i, and despite improvements in screening, surveillance rules, and imaging, more than two-thirds of patients with HCC present with advanced disease at diagnosis.

RATIONALE 301 (NCT03412773) is a global, Phase III, randomized, open-label study of tislelizumab compared with sorafenib as a first-line treatment in adult patients with unresectable HCC. The primary endpoint of the study is non-inferiority of OS between the two treatment groups. The key secondary endpoint is Overall Response Rate, as assessed by Blinded Independent Review Committee (BIRC) per RECIST v1.1. Other secondary endpoints include other efficacy assessments such as Progression-Free Survival, Durability of Response, and Time to Progression per BIRC, as well as measures of health-related quality of life, and safety and tolerability.