Article Outline
Keywords: Liver cancer, Therapy, Immunotherapy, Checkpoint inhibitors
During the last years, new immune-modulatory agents were introduced for oncological treatment, eventually leading to the clinical breakthrough of checkpoint inhibitors (CPI) targeting cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen-4 (CTLA-4), programmed death-1 (PD-1) and programmed death-1 ligand (PD-1L) [[url=][1][/url], [url=][2][/url], [url=][3][/url], [url=][4][/url], [url=][5][/url]]. Under physiological conditions these molecules resolve T cell activation to maintain inflammatory homeostasis, protect tissue integrity and prevent unwanted auto-immunity [[url=]6[/url]]. CPI administration in tumor patients, however, unleashes tumor-directed cytotoxic T cells specific against an unknown spectrum of tumor-associated antigens (TAA). This results in a robust multi-targeted immune response even capable of inducing durable oncological remission in some patients. The expectations are high that these novel drugs may also contribute to the developmental need of more effective treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Different trials are currently underway to investigate the safety and efficacy of CPI in primary liver cancer (Table 1). Table 1Current trials on checkpoint inhibitors in HCC.Tumor entityInvestigated regimenTrial identifier
Solid tumors⁎Durvalumab (anti PD-1L Ab) plus ramucirumab (anti-VEGF-R2 Ab)NCT02572687
Solid tumors⁎Durvalumab (anti PD-1L Ab) plus AZD4635 (adenosine A2A receptor antagonist)NCT02740985
Solid tumors⁎Ipilimumab (anti CTLA-4 Ab) plus stereotactic body radiationNCT02239900
Solid tumors⁎Ipilimumab (anti CTLA-4 Ab) plus MGN1703 (Toll-like receptor agonist)NCT02668770
HCCNivolumab (anti PD-1 Ab)NCT02576509
HCCNivolumab (anti PD-1 Ab) plus CC-122 (immunostimulatory pathway modifier)NCT02859324
HCCNivolumab (anti PD-1 Ab) plus LRT (Yttrium 90Y glass microspheres)NCT02837029
HCCNivolumab (anti PD-1 Ab) plus ipilimumab (anti CTLA-4 Ab)NCT01658878
Solid tumors⁎Nivolumab (anti PD-1 Ab) plus galunisertib (TGF-β inhibitor)NCT02423343
HCCPDR001 (anti PD-1 Ab) plus INC280 (c-Met inhibitor)NCT02795429
Solid tumors⁎PDR001 (anti PD-1 Ab) plus NIS793 (anti TGF-β Ab)NCT02947165
HCCPrembrolizumab (anti PD-1 Ab)NCT02702401
HCCPrembrolizumab (anti PD-1 Ab)NCT02940496
HCCPrembrolizumab (anti PD-1 Ab) plus dendritic cells, cytokine-induced killer cellsNCT02886897
HCCTremelimumab (anti CTLA-4 Ab)NCT01853618 (Duffy et al.)
HCCTremelimumab (anti CTLA-4 Ab) plus durvalumab (anti PD-1L Ab)NCT02519348
HCCTremelimumab (anti CTLA-4 Ab), durvalumab (anti PD-1L Ab) plus LRTNCT02821754Ab, antibody; c-Met, hepatocyte growth factor receptor; CTLA-4, cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen-4; HCC, hepatocellular carcinoma; LRT, loco-regional therapy; PD-1, programmed death-1; PD-1L, programmed death 1-ligand; TGF-ß, transforming growth factor-beta; VEGF-R2, vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2.
Including HCC.
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