Frontiers in Immunology (Feb 2023)

Immunotherapy for hepatocellular carcinoma recurrence after liver transplantation, can we harness the power of immune checkpoint inhibitors?

  • Jingyu Jiang,
  • Jingyu Jiang,
  • Haitao Huang,
  • Haitao Huang,
  • Ruihan Chen,
  • Ruihan Chen,
  • Yimou Lin,
  • Yimou Lin,
  • Qi Ling,
  • Qi Ling,
  • Qi Ling

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2023.1092401
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 14

Abstract

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Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the leading causes of cancer-related death globally and liver transplantation (LT) can serve as the best curative treatment option. However, HCC recurrence after LT remains the major obstacle to the long-term survival of recipients. Recently, immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have revolutionized the treatment of many cancers and provided a new treatment strategy for post-LT HCC recurrence. Evidence has been accumulated with the real-world application of ICIs in patients with post-LT HCC recurrence. Notably, the use of these agents as immunity boosters in recipients treated with immunosuppressors is still controversial. In this review, we summarized the immunotherapy for post-LT HCC recurrence and conducted an efficacy and safety evaluation based on the current experience of ICIs for post-LT HCC recurrence. In addition, we further discussed the potential mechanism of ICIs and immunosuppressive agents in regulating the balance between immune immunosuppression and lasting anti-tumor immunity.

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