Body weight predicts dose reduction, discontinuation in HCC patients taking lenvatinib

Patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) weighing <55 kg who initiate a full dose of lenvatinib tend to lose weight or discontinue treatment, reports a study.

Ninety-nine patients treated with lenvatinib at the Ogaki Municipal Hospital in Ogaki, Japan, between April 2018 and December 2023 were included in this retrospective study. 

Participants were divided into two groups based on whether treatment discontinuation or dose reduction occurred due to fatigue or gastrointestinal symptoms during lenvatinib administration (n=37) or not (n=62). The investigators then compared baseline characteristics between the two groups.

In multivariate analysis, body weight (odds ratio, 4.310, 95 percent confidence interval, 1.380‒13.500; p=0.002) was independently associated with treatment discontinuation or dose reduction owing to fatigue or gastrointestinal symptoms during lenvatinib administration.

Using the cutoff value of 55 kg, calculated via body weight curve, the sensitivity and specificity of body weight in predicting treatment discontinuation or dose reduction due to fatigue or gastrointestinal symptoms during lenvatinib administration were 83.9 percent and 56.8 percent, respectively.

“Lenvatinib is the standard treatment for HCC,” the investigators said. “In clinical practice, gastrointestinal symptoms such as fatigue and loss of appetite often lead to dose reduction or treatment discontinuation.”