[Correspondence] Treatments for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma: insights from CheckMate 9DW

Thomas Yau and colleagues’ CheckMate 9DW trial has yielded unprecedented results, with nivolumab plus ipilimumab reaching an overall response rate of 36%, a median progression-free survival of 9·1 months, and a median overall survival of 23·7 months.1 The outcomes of IMbrave1502 appear less compelling when contrasted with CheckMate 9DW, which excluded patients with main portal vein invasion (Vp4) and enrolled a cohort with comparatively more favourable disease biology. More patients in CheckMate 9DW had earlier-stage disease (Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer [BCLC] stage A/B: 27%) compared with IMbrave150, where 82% had BCLC stage C.