Should immunotherapy be used earlier in liver cancer treatment?

New research suggests that a combination of atezolizumab (Tecentriq) and bevacizumab may help people with intermediate-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a form of liver cancer, stay on an effective treatment longer than the current standard procedure, transarterial chemoembolization (TACE).

These findings come from an international clinical trial presented at the 2026 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium.

What was studied?

The ABC-HCC trial is comparing two different ways of treating intermediate-stage HCC:

• Systemic therapy with atezolizumab plus bevacizumab, given every three weeks
• TACE, a procedure that delivers chemotherapy directly to liver tumors by blocking their blood supply

TACE has long been the standard treatment for people with intermediate-stage HCC. However, atezolizumab plus bevacizumab is already approved for people with advanced HCC and for those whose cancer has stopped responding to TACE.

This study is one of the first to directly compare starting treatment with immunotherapy versus starting with TACE in this group of patients.

What did the researchers find?

In an early look at the study results:

• People treated with atezolizumab plus bevacizumab stayed on their treatment plan for a median of 14.6 months
• People treated with TACE stayed on their treatment plan for a median of 9.5 months

This means patients receiving the immunotherapy combination were able to continue their treatment about five months longer, on average, before needing to switch to another option or stop treatment.

According to lead study author Dr. Peter Galle, these results suggest that systemic therapy may be more effective than TACE for some patients with intermediate-stage disease.

What does “time to failure of treatment strategy” mean?

Instead of focusing only on scan results, researchers measured something called time to failure of treatment strategy.

In simple terms, this looks at:

• How long a treatment continues to work
• How long patients can stay on their original treatment plan
• When another treatment becomes necessary

This approach is especially helpful when studying procedures like TACE, which may be continued even if scans show some tumor growth.

Why this matters for patients

For people with intermediate-stage HCC, these findings are encouraging. They suggest that starting treatment with immunotherapy may help some patients stay on an effective therapy longer than starting with TACE alone.

While TACE remains the standard approach today, this study adds to growing evidence that systemic treatments may play a larger role earlier in liver cancer care.

What happens next?

The ABC-HCC trial is still ongoing and plans to enroll more patients. Researchers will continue to follow participants to better understand long-term outcomes and who benefits most from each approach.

If you or a loved one has intermediate-stage HCC, it may be helpful to ask your care team:

• What treatment options are available to me right now?
  
• Could immunotherapy be an option earlier in my care?
  
• Are clinical trials appropriate for my situation?

As research continues, studies like this are helping expand treatment options and create more personalized paths forward for people living with liver cancer.

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