A Video Summary of the HIMALAYA Study PLSP: Tremelimumab and Durvalumab for Unresectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common type of liver cancer. Many people are diagnosed with HCC that cannot be removed with surgery, known as unresectable HCC. Sorafenib has been the main treatment for unresectable HCC since 2007. However, sorafenib may cause side effects that can reduce quality of life, so alternative medicines are being tested.

Tremelimumab and durvalumab are types of drugs called immunotherapies, and they both work in different ways to help the body’s immune system fight cancer. This animated video article presents results from the phase III HIMALAYA study, which looked at treatment with tremelimumab plus durvalumab (known as STRIDE) versus sorafenib, or durvalumab alone versus sorafenib, in participants with unresectable HCC.

In HIMALAYA, participants who took STRIDE were less likely to die and were more likely to have their cancer shrink or disappear than those who took sorafenib. Participants who took STRIDE or durvalumab were more likely to maintain their quality of life for longer and were less likely to experience side effects related to treatment than participants who took sorafenib.

The results of this study support STRIDE and durvalumab as promising new treatments for unresectable HCC. STRIDE and durvalumab are now approved for unresectable HCC in different countries across the globe.

The content of this animated video article is based on the manuscript, “Plain language summary of the HIMALAYA study: tremelimumab and durvalumab for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer)”, published in Future Oncology.

Click here or on the link below to read the Plain Language Summary of Publication (PLSP).

Durvalumab is also an approved treatment for adults with advanced biliary tract cancers (BTC) in combination with chemotherapy by government organizations in Europe, the United States and several other countries. Click here or on the link below to learn about the phase III TOPAZ-1 study, which investigated durvalumab plus chemotherapy to treat patients with advanced BTCs.

Original article:

Abou-Alfa GK, Lau G, Kudo M, et al. Plain language summary of the HIMALAYA study: tremelimumab and durvalumab for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer). Future Oncol. 2023;19(38):2505-2516. DOI: 10.2217/fon-2023-0486.