Ipilimumab and nivolumab plus radioembolization as salvage therapy for atezolizumab and bevacizumab refractory hepatocellular carcinoma resulting in complete pathologic response

Abstract

Unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma unresponsive to first-line immunotherapy has a poor prognosis with modest response to tyrosine kinase inhibitors in the second line. In these patients, the benefit of local therapy with immunotherapy rechallenge is unknown. Radioembolization is a guideline-supported locoregional therapy for HCC that has shown the potential for synergy in combination with immunotherapy. This report describes a patient with veno-invasive HCC and extrahepatic invasion of the right kidney which progressed on atezolizumab and bevacizumab and was subsequently downstaged to resection with ipilimumab and nivolumab plus radioembolization yielding a complete pathologic response. The patient is currently more than 2 years since diagnosis without evidence of disease recurrence.

Keywords

• Radioembolization
• Y90
• Hepatocellular carcinoma
• Immunotherapy
• PD-L1/CTLA-4 blockade
• Combination therapies