trialsTrialNegative

IMbrave050

The first adjuvant immunotherapy trial in liver cancer looked positive early, then the benefit vanished with longer follow-up.

Interim RFS HR 0.72 (2023) prompted enthusiasm; the updated analysis (J Hepatol 2026) showed the RFS benefit was not sustained and did not support adjuvant use, with a possible signal in subgroups. A lesson about immature interim analyses.

Setting

Adjuvant atezolizumab + bevacizumab vs active surveillance after resection or ablation of high-risk HCC

Phase

Phase 3

Sponsor

Roche

Registry

NCT04102098

Headline result

Interim RFS HR 0.72; benefit not sustained at update.

Reported

2023

Enrolled

668

Replication

The updated analysis of the same trial did not confirm the interim result.

Outcomes

1top

In plain words

What these results mean for people, not percentages

668 people took part

Recurrence-free survival (interim)primarysurrogate endpoint

The treated group had about 28 percent lower chance of the event at any given time (hazard ratio 0.72).
The absolute difference, how many more people out of 100 were helped, is not reported here.

This is a surrogate endpoint: it measures the cancer being controlled or absent on scans and tests, which often, but not always, translates into living longer.
These results apply to the people the trial enrolled: Adjuvant atezolizumab + bevacizumab vs active surveillance after resection or ablation of high-risk HCC. People in a different situation may not see the same effect.

Numbers are from the trial as recorded here; see the source links in the table below. This is orientation, not medical advice: ask your team how closely the trial population matches you.

668 participants enrolled.

Recurrence-free survival (interim)primary

HR 0.72 (0.56–0.93)

Numbers not yet public.

Endpoint	Arm	n	Value	HR (95% CI)	p	Source
Recurrence-free survival (interim)primary	Atezolizumab + bevacizumab	334	—	0.72 (0.56–0.93)	—	—
Recurrence-free survival (interim)primary	Surveillance	334	—	0.72 (0.56–0.93)	—	—