Dr. Abou-Alfa Discusses the STORM Trial in HCC

Ghassan K. Abou-Alfa, MD, Gastrointestinal Oncology Service, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses the findings from the STORM trial, a phase III randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of adjuvant sorafenib after resection or ablation to prevent recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Abou-Alfa says the trial sought to identify what kind of improvement in recurrence might occur with the addition of sorafenib. The results, which were presented at the 2014 ASCO Annual Meeting, showed that there was no difference in recurrence-free survival when the two arms were compared (33.4 months in the sorafenib arm, 33.8 months in the placebo arm).

This study questions the concept of adjuvant therapy in HCC, Abou-Alfa says. The tolerance of sorafenib was also an issue in this trial (24% treatment-emergent adverse events in the sorafenib arm and 7% in the placebo arm). Further research is needed to explore more options for HCC therapy in the adjuvant setting, Abou-Alfa says.