Do not go gentle into that good night, old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light, though wise men at their end know dark is right, because their words had forked no lightning they, do not go gentle into that good night.
HLB's liver cancer therapy proves effective across all age groups in new study
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By Jhoo Dong-chan
HLB Group's liver cancer combination therapy showed consistent treatment benefits regardless of patient age, including in patients under 40, according to a new subgroup analysis to be presented this week at an international cancer conference.
Elevar Therapeutics, HLB's U.S. subsidiary, will present an age-based post-hoc analysis of its global Phase 3 CARES-310 trial in a poster session at the International Liver Cancer Association's 2026 annual conference, running Thursday through Saturday at the Le Plaza Hotel in Brussels.
The trial tested a combination of rivoceranib, an oral drug that blocks tumor blood vessel growth, and camrelizumab, an immunotherapy drug, in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma, the most common form of liver cancer.
Among patients under 50, median overall survival reached 21.5 months, versus 15.2 months for those on sorafenib, the standard comparator drug. Median progression-free survival — the time before the cancer worsens — was 5.5 months versus 2.7 months. Patients 50 and older saw similar gains, with overall survival of 23.9 months versus 15.2 months.
Patients under 40 showed comparable results, with overall survival of 24.2 months versus 15.2 months and progression-free survival of 5.5 months versus 2.2 months. Rates of treatment-related side effects were similar across age groups; the most common severe side effect was high blood pressure in the combination group and hand-foot syndrome in the sorafenib group.
"This age-based subgroup analysis provides additional evidence supporting the potential of camrelizumab plus rivoceranib to improve outcomes across a broad range of patients with liver cancer," said Arndt Vogel, the study's lead author and a professor at the University of Toronto's UHN-Princess Margaret Cancer Centre.
In July, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued Elevar a complete response letter — a formal rejection requiring further information — over manufacturing-related issues at a production facility tied to the combination's new drug application as a first-line liver cancer treatment. Elevar said it is working with its partner to resubmit.
"We remain committed to giving hepatocellular carcinoma patients a new treatment option through FDA approval," said Kim Dong-Gun, Elevar's chief executive officer.
This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.