Author information
1 Université Grenoble Alpes, 38000 Grenoble, France. zuzana.mjilkova@gmail.com.
2 Institute for Advanced Biosciences, Research Center UGA/Inserm U 1209/CNRS 5309, 38700 La Tronche, France. zuzana.mjilkova@gmail.com.
3 Service d'hépato-gastroentérologie, Pôle Digidune, CHU Grenoble Alpes, 38700 La Tronche, France. zuzana.mjilkova@gmail.com.
4 Université Grenoble Alpes, 38000 Grenoble, France. caroline.aspord@efs.sante.fr.
5 Institute for Advanced Biosciences, Research Center UGA/Inserm U 1209/CNRS 5309, 38700 La Tronche, France. caroline.aspord@efs.sante.fr.
6 Etablissement Français du Sang Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, R&D-Laboratory, 38701 Grenoble, France. caroline.aspord@efs.sante.fr.
7 Université Grenoble Alpes, 38000 Grenoble, France. ZMacekjilkova@chu-grenoble.fr.
8 Institute for Advanced Biosciences, Research Center UGA/Inserm U 1209/CNRS 5309, 38700 La Tronche, France. ZMacekjilkova@chu-grenoble.fr.
9 Service d'hépato-gastroentérologie, Pôle Digidune, CHU Grenoble Alpes, 38700 La Tronche, France. ZMacekjilkova@chu-grenoble.fr.
Abstract
Immunotherapies targeting immune checkpoints are fast-developing therapeutic approaches adopted for several tumor types that trigger unprecedented rates of durable clinical responses. Immune checkpoint programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1), expressed primarily by T cells, and programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1), expressed mainly by tumor cells, macrophages, and dendritic cells, are molecules that impede immune function, thereby allowing tumor cells to proliferate, grow and spread. PD-1/PD-L1 checkpoint inhibitors have emerged as a promising treatment strategy of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, only a minority of HCC patients benefit from this therapy. To find a niche for immune checkpoint inhibition in HCC patients, future strategies might require predictive factor-based patient selection, to identify patients who are likely to respond to the said therapy and combination strategies in order to enhance anti-tumor efficacy and clinical success. This review provides an overview of the most recent data pertaining to predictive factors for response to PD-1/PD-L1 checkpoint inhibition in the field of HCC.