Study design and patients
We performed a retrospective cohort study on unresectable HCC patients
who were seropositive for HBsAg and accepted TAF therapy prior to
combined anti-PD-1 and antiangiogenic treatment. This study included
consecutive patients who were referred to Nanfang Hospital, Southern
Medical University in Guangzhou, China, between Jul 2019 and Oct 2021. A
total of 108 patients were screened for eligibility according to the
following inclusion criteria: (1) pathologically diagnosed with HCC; (2)
received at least one cycle of anti-PD-1 therapy; (3) seropositive for
HBsAg and had received TAF therapy as a regular antiviral regimen before
anti-PD-1 treatment; and (4) with HBV DNA and liver function monitored
regularly during the follow-up. Patients were excluded for: (1) the
presence of other positive viral markers, including IgM antibodies to
the hepatitis A virus, hepatitis C virus (HCV), or hepatitis E virus,
IgG antibodies to the hepatitis D virus or HIV; (2) participating in
other clinical trials; and (3) not having baseline HBV DNA and HBsAg
test results (baseline defined as within 2 weeks prior to initial PD-1
inhibitor therapy). Finally, 70 patients with complete data were
included in the current study. Figure 1 shows a flowchart of the patient
selection procedure. This study was performed in accordance with the
ethical guidelines of the 1975 Declaration of Helsinki and was approved
by the ethics committee of the Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical
University. Informed consent was obtained from all the patients prior to
their participation.