Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42326608›Full record

ArticleJournal of hepatocellular carcinoma2026

Comparative Performance of Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy and Lenvatinib in Unresectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma Complicated by Portal Vein Tumor Thrombosis: A Propensity Score-Matched Cohort Analysis.

Jian Huang, Fu-Chen Liu, Yun Yang, Sheng-Xian Yuan, Fang-Ming Gu, Bei-Ge Jiang, Ze-Ya Pan

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of hepatocellular carcinoma, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Jian HuangThe Third Department of Hepatic Surgery, Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital, Naval Medical University, Shanghai, 201805, People's Republic of China.
Fu-Chen LiuThe Third Department of Hepatic Surgery, Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital, Naval Medical University, Shanghai, 201805, People's Republic of China.
Yun YangThe Third Department of Hepatic Surgery, Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital, Naval Medical University, Shanghai, 201805, People's Republic of China.
Sheng-Xian YuanThe Third Department of Hepatic Surgery, Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital, Naval Medical University, Shanghai, 201805, People's Republic of China.
Fang-Ming GuThe Third Department of Hepatic Surgery, Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital, Naval Medical University, Shanghai, 201805, People's Republic of China.
Bei-Ge JiangThe Third Department of Hepatic Surgery, Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital, Naval Medical University, Shanghai, 201805, People's Republic of China.
Ze-Ya PanThe Third Department of Hepatic Surgery, Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital, Naval Medical University, Shanghai, 201805, People's Republic of China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate whether adding stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) to lenvatinib improves outcomes for patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (uHCC) and portal vein tumor thrombosis (PVTT). Methods: This retrospective cohort study enrolled 133 cases of uHCC with PVTT treated with either lenvatinib plus SBRT (n = 65) or lenvatinib alone (n = 68) between 2021 and 2023. To minimize baseline imbalances, 1:1 propensity score matching (PSM, caliper width, 0.02) was performed. The primary endpoints were overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). Results: Across the full study population, patients receiving lenvatinib in combination with SBRT experienced significantly longer median OS relative to those who received lenvatinib alone (24.7 vs 16.4 months; HR=0.521, 95% CI: 0.338-0.802, p = 0.003). A similar advantage was observed for PFS (13.0 vs 8.6 months; HR=0.494, 95% CI: 0.335-0.728, p < 0.0001). These findings remained consistent after PSM, with hazard ratios of 0.589 for OS and 0.540 for PFS. The objective response rate was also substantially higher in the combination arm than in the monotherapy arm (55.4% vs 30.9%, p = 0.004). Subgroup analyses revealed that the survival advantage was confined to patients with Cheng's type I-II PVTT, whereas no significant benefit was observed in those with type III-IV disease. Furthermore, salvage hepatectomy was an independent protective factor for survival in 33 cases (24.8%), with a significantly higher conversion rate in the combined treatment group (30.8%). Both treatment groups had comparable and manageable safety profiles. Conclusion: Lenvatinib in combination with SBRT confers meaningful advantages in both survival and tumor response over lenvatinib monotherapy in individuals with uHCC and PVTT, particularly among those with Cheng's type I-II involvement. Moreover, this multimodal approach appears to be an effective strategy for achieving tumor downstaging and enabling subsequent salvage hepatectomy.

Indexed as

hepatocellular carcinomalenvatinibportal vein tumor thrombusstereotactic body radiotherapysurvival

Identifiers

PMID42326608
PMCPMC13281888

What Socratic holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.