Gastro Hep Advances (Jan 2024)

Anti-PD-1 Autoantibody Predicts Survival of Patients With Hepatocellular Carcinoma Receiving Atezolizumab/Bevacizumab

  • Yuki Sasaki,
  • Kazuyuki Matsumoto,
  • Akinobu Takaki,
  • Takuya Adachi,
  • Masahiro Takahara,
  • Keita Ozato,
  • Yasuto Takeuchi,
  • Masahiko Sue,
  • Nozomi Miyake,
  • Nozomu Wada,
  • Hideki Onishi,
  • Hidenori Shiraha,
  • Takashi Oda,
  • Koichiro Tsutsumi,
  • Kazuhiro Nouso,
  • Kazuya Kariyama,
  • Hiroaki Hagihara,
  • Akio Moriya,
  • Motoyuki Otsuka

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 3, no. 8
pp. 1138 – 1147

Abstract

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Background and Aims: Methods for predicting therapeutic response to immune checkpoint inhibitors in cancer therapy are in high demand. In patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), atezolizumab (anti-programmed cell death-ligand 1 [PD-L1]) and bevacizumab (anti-vascular endothelial growth factor) combination therapy (Atezo/Bev therapy) is a first-line treatment. However, no reliable biomarkers are currently available to predict its efficacy. Here, we examined serum anti-PD-1 autoantibody levels as candidate biomarkers. Methods: We prospectively enrolled 63 patients with advanced HCC who received Atezo/Bev therapy. Serum anti-PD-1 autoantibody levels were measured before treatment using an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The correlation between the titers and response to therapy was statistically examined. Results: Serum anti-PD-1 autoantibody levels were not significantly associated with the treatment response in any patient. However, when examining only patients who received the Atezo/Bev as their first-line therapy, higher anti-PD-1 autoantibody levels were significantly associated with worse overall survival rates. The titer was an independent risk factor for poor prognosis (odds ratio [OR] = 7.8, P = .013), in addition to a higher neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (OR = 7.1, P = .009) and lower albumin levels (OR = 14.2, P = .003). Conclusion: Serum anti-PD-1 autoantibody levels correlated with the overall survival rate in patients who received Atezo/Bev as first-line therapy. Serum anti-PD-1 autoantibody levels may serve as new biomarkers for predicting the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors in patients with HCC.

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