Loading
5 treatment settings, 4 with more than one named option. Each section lays out the options the standard of care names, what each is for, the trials behind them with their recorded results, the side effects and cautions on record, and questions to ask. Built from the cancer page's standard-of-care rows; nothing here is advice for your case.
Atezolizumab with bevacizumab (IMbrave150) after endoscopic assessment of varices, or durvalumab with a single dose of tremelimumab (HIMALAYA); nivolumab with ipilimumab (CheckMate 9DW) where approved.
A PD-L1 blocker used in lung, liver, and bladder cancer. In 2026 it became the first drug approved based on a blood test showing leftover cancer after bladder surgery.
Bevacizumab is a humanised antibody that soaks up VEGF-A, the signal tumours use to grow new blood vessels. Approved in 2004, it partners chemotherapy in colorectal, ovarian, cervical, lung, kidney and liver cancer and glioblastoma, and adds to trifluridine/tipiracil in late-line bowel cancer; hypertension, protein in the urine and bleeding are its characteristic side effects.
A PD-L1 blocker that became standard after chemoradiation for stage III lung cancer, and now in bladder, biliary, and gastric cancers.
Tremelimumab is AstraZeneca's CTLA-4 antibody, given as a single priming dose with durvalumab and chemotherapy in lung and liver cancer.
Nivolumab was the second PD-1 blocker and is often combined with ipilimumab. Long-term data show about half of advanced melanoma patients alive at 10 years on the combination.
Ipilimumab was the first checkpoint inhibitor (2011), and proved the immune system could be unleashed against cancer.
OS 19.2 vs 13.4 months, HR 0.66.
Averages across everyone diagnosed, often years ago. A median is the middle of a group: half the people counted lived longer than the figure shown, and some lived far longer. Your stage, subtype, age, fitness and the treatment you receive matter more than the average, and the numbers are improving quickly.
OS 23.7 vs 20.6 months, HR 0.79; ORR 36% vs 13%.
| Side effect | Any grade | Grade 3+ |
|---|---|---|
| Pneumonitis (immune-mediated) · Monotherapy pooled | 3% | 0.8% |
| Hepatitis (immune-mediated) · Monotherapy pooled | 1.8% | 0.7% |
| Colitis (immune-mediated) · Monotherapy pooled | 1% | 0.5% |
| Hypothyroidism (immune-mediated) · Monotherapy pooled | 4.9% | 0.2% |
Rates from the label or pivotal trial as recorded on the product page; each grade 3+ figure links to its source.
| Side effect | Any grade | Grade 3+ |
|---|---|---|
| Pneumonitis (any cause, PACIFIC) · vs 12.8% placebo; 1.1% fatal | 18.3% | - |
Rates from the label or pivotal trial as recorded on the product page; each grade 3+ figure links to its source.
| Side effect | Any grade | Grade 3+ |
|---|---|---|
| Colitis with ipilimumab (1+3 mg/kg) · Monotherapy pooled unless stated | 25% | 14.4% |
| Hepatitis with ipilimumab · Monotherapy pooled unless stated | 15% | 13.4% |
| Colitis · Monotherapy pooled unless stated | 2.9% | 1.7% |
| Hepatitis · Monotherapy pooled unless stated | 1.8% | 1.5% |
Rates from the label or pivotal trial as recorded on the product page; each grade 3+ figure links to its source.
| Side effect | Any grade | Grade 3+ |
|---|---|---|
| Colitis (with nivolumab 1+3) · Nivolumab 1 mg/kg + ipilimumab 3 mg/kg, melanoma | 25% | 14.4% |
| Hepatitis (with nivolumab) · Nivolumab 1 mg/kg + ipilimumab 3 mg/kg, melanoma | 15% | 13.4% |
| Rash (with nivolumab) · Nivolumab 1 mg/kg + ipilimumab 3 mg/kg, melanoma | 28% | 4.8% |
| Adrenal insufficiency (with nivolumab) · Nivolumab 1 mg/kg + ipilimumab 3 mg/kg, melanoma | 8% | 2.6% |
Rates from the label or pivotal trial as recorded on the product page; each grade 3+ figure links to its source.
Add these to your appointment list, or take the full question set for this cancer.
Lenvatinib (REFLECT) or sorafenib (SHARP), for example after liver transplantation or with active autoimmune disease.
An oral anti-angiogenic pill that matched sorafenib in liver cancer with higher response rates, and partners with pembrolizumab in kidney and endometrial cancer.
The first drug ever to extend life in advanced liver cancer (2007), now mostly a comparator arm that newer combinations are measured against.
OS 13.6 vs 12.3 months, non-inferior (HR 0.92).
OS 10.7 vs 7.9 months, HR 0.69.
Add these to your appointment list, or take the full question set for this cancer.
Lenvatinib or sorafenib after immunotherapy; regorafenib (RESORCE), cabozantinib (CELESTIAL) or ramucirumab when alpha-fetoprotein is 400 or above, all proven after sorafenib.
A sorafenib successor that became the first second-line drug proven to prolong life in liver cancer (2017).
A pill that blocks both blood-vessel growth and the MET escape pathway, used in kidney, liver, thyroid and, since 2025, neuroendocrine cancers.
An antibody that blocks the VEGF receptor, approved in liver cancer only for patients with a high AFP blood level, the first biomarker-selected HCC drug.
An oral anti-angiogenic pill that matched sorafenib in liver cancer with higher response rates, and partners with pembrolizumab in kidney and endometrial cancer.
The first drug ever to extend life in advanced liver cancer (2007), now mostly a comparator arm that newer combinations are measured against.
OS 10.6 vs 7.8 months, HR 0.63.
OS 10.2 vs 8.0 months, HR 0.76.
Add these to your appointment list, or take the full question set for this cancer.
Radiotherapy or radioembolisation to the thrombus alongside systemic therapy; hepatic artery infusion chemotherapy in Asian centres.
Stereotactic body radiotherapy converges multiple beams with sub-millimetre accuracy to deliver tumour-destroying doses in one to five outpatient sessions, doing the job of surgery for inoperable early lung cancer and for metastases in liver, spine and brain. Tumour size and location limit its use, and late toxicity is a concern near the central airways.
Millions of tiny radioactive glass or resin beads are injected into the liver artery, lodging in the tumour and irradiating it from within.
No trial record is attached to this row yet. The trials tab lists what is recruiting and the landmark trials for this cancer.
Add these to your appointment list, or take the full question set for this cancer.
Antiviral therapy for hepatitis B, variceal management and monitoring of liver function, which decides whether further lines are possible.
This setting names no product or technology record yet; the approach above is the standard as written. Ask your team which specific treatments they mean.
No trial record is attached to this row yet. The trials tab lists what is recruiting and the landmark trials for this cancer.
No side-effect rates or interaction flags are recorded for these options yet. The side-effect lookup and interaction checker cover the products that have them.
Add these to your appointment list, or take the full question set for this cancer.