Bevacizumab Combined with Chemotherapy in Children Affected by Hepatocellular Carcinoma: a Single-center Experience.
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is very rare in children and is traditionally associated with a poor prognosis because many patients are not amenable to conventional resection, even in the absence of metastatic disease. For patients with locally advanced or metastatic tumors, conventional chemotherapy appears to offer limited survival benefits.



We report a case series of five consecutive pediatric patients with HCC who were treated with bevacizumab along with conventional platinum-based chemotherapy.



Overall, all five patients presented an objective response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Four patients remain alive and free of disease 54 months after diagnosis (range=20-85 months) after treatment with bevacizumab in combination with chemotherapy and surgery that consisted of partial liver resection in two patients and liver transplantation in three.



In our experience, bevacizumab combined with chemotherapy was an effective and safe option for the treatment of children affected by HCC.
Department of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation, Bambino Gesù Pediatric Hospital, Rome, Italy mdebora.depasquale@opbg.net.
Maria Debora
MD
DE Pasquale
Department of Pediatric Surgery and Transplantation, Bambino Gesù Pediatric Hospital, Rome, Italy.
Jean
J
de Ville de Goyet
Department of Imaging, Bambino Gesù Pediatric Hospital, Rome, Italy.
Lidia
L
Monti
Department of Pediatric Surgery and Transplantation, Bambino Gesù Pediatric Hospital, Rome, Italy.
Chiara
C
Grimaldi
Department of Pediatric Surgery and Transplantation, Bambino Gesù Pediatric Hospital, Rome, Italy.
Alessandro
A
Crocoli
Department of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation, Bambino Gesù Pediatric Hospital, Rome, Italy.
Aurora
A
Castellano
D020533:Angiogenesis Inhibitors / Q000008:administration & dosage; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000068258:Bevacizumab / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000601:surgery; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002945:Cisplatin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D004317:Doxorubicin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D006498:Hepatectomy; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000601:surgery; D016031:Liver Transplantation; D008297:Male; D020360:Neoadjuvant Therapy / Q000379:methods; D011379:Prognosis
D020533:Angiogenesis Inhibitors; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D000068258:Bevacizumab; D004317:Doxorubicin; D002945:Cisplatin
Hepatocellular carcinoma; bevacizumab; childhood; liver transplantation