Dr Ghassan K. Abou-Alfa speaks to ecancer about the efficacy and safety results from EMERALD-3 trial.

Treatment options for unresectable early-to-intermediate hepatocellular carcinoma continue to evolve, with transarterial chemoembolisation remaining a global standard of care.

This phase 3 study evaluated whether adding the STRIDE regimen, consisting of tremelimumab and durvalumab, with or without lenvatinib, could enhance outcomes when combined with TACE.

Results showed that the addition of STRIDE plus lenvatinib to TACE significantly improved progression-free survival compared with TACE alone, with a favourable trend toward improved overall survival at interim analysis.

STRIDE plus TACE without lenvatinib also demonstrated improvements in both progression-free and overall survival.

Higher response durability translated into improved survival rates at 24 months.

While treatment-related adverse events were more frequent in the combination arms, they were consistent with the known safety profiles of the individual therapies.

These findings support STRIDE-based combinations with TACE as a potential new treatment approach for patients with unresectable early-to-intermediate hepatocellular carcinoma.