Predictors of response for hepatocellular carcinoma immunotherapy: is there anything on the horizon?

ABSTRACT

Introduction

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains an important cause of cancer-related death, representing the sixth most commonly diagnosed malignancy worldwide. Novel systemic treatment options have recently emerged for advanced diseases, including immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), as monotherapy or in combination with other anticancer agents. However, several questions remain unanswered, including the identification of predictors of response to immunotherapy in this setting.

Areas Covered

Herein, we will provide a critical overview of current knowledge regarding predictive biomarkers of response to ICIs in HCC patients. A literature search was conducted in December 2021 of PubMed/Medline, Cochrane library, and Scopus databases.

Expert Opinion

Several critical issues regarding the role of ICIs in advanced HCC remain unsolved, with the identification of predictive biomarkers representing an unmet need. Further efforts aimed at identifying reliable predictors and the effective role of PD-L1 status, TMB, MSI, and other biomarkers are warranted.

KEYWORDS:

• HCC
• immunotherapy
• hepatocellular carcinoma
• PD-L1
• TMB

Article highlights

• Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains a global health problem.

• Recent years have witnessed the development of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), and these anticancer drugs have revolutionized the treatment landscape of a plethora of hematological and solid tumors, including HCC.

• However, few data are available regarding the role of predictors in response to ICIs, and several questions remain unanswered.

• In the current review, we provide an overview of current knowledge regarding predictive biomarkers of response to ICIs in HCC patients, especially focusing on recently presented and published studies on this topic.

Acknowledgments

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Financial & competing interests’ disclosure

The author has no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

Reviewer disclosures

Peer reviewers on this manuscript have no relevant financial or other relationships to disclose.

Additional information

Funding

This paper was not funded.