Blood-based biomarkers for immune-based therapy in advanced HCC: Promising but a long way to go

Pil Soo Sung; Isaac Kise Lee; Pu Reun Roh; Min Woo Kang; Jaegyoon Ahn; Seung Kew Yoon

doi:10.3389/fonc.2022.1028728

Blood-based biomarkers for immune-based therapy in advanced HCC: Promising but a long way to go

Front Oncol. 2022 Oct 31:12:1028728. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2022.1028728. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Pil Soo Sung^{1

2}, Isaac Kise Lee³, Pu Reun Roh¹, Min Woo Kang¹, Jaegyoon Ahn³, Seung Kew Yoon^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biomedicine and Health Sciences, The Catholic University Liver Research Center, College of Medicine, POSTECH-Catholic Biomedical Engineering Institute, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, South Korea.
² Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, South Korea.
³ Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Incheon National University, Incheon, South Korea.

Abstract

The introduction of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) represents a key shift in the management strategy for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, there is a paucity of predictive biomarkers that facilitate the identification of patients that would respond to ICI therapy. Although several researchers have attempted to resolve the issue, the data is insufficient to alter daily clinical practice. The use of minimally invasive procedures to obtain patient-derived specimen, such as using blood-based samples, is increasingly preferred. Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) can be isolated from the blood of cancer patients, and liquid biopsies can provide sufficient material to enable ongoing monitoring of HCC. This is particularly significant for patients for whom surgery is not indicated, including those with advanced HCC. In this review, we summarize the current state of understanding of blood-based biomarkers for ICI-based therapy in advanced HCC, which is promising despite there is still a long way to go.

Keywords: biomarker; circulating tumor DNA; hepatocellular carcinoma; immune checkpoint inhibitors; patient outcomes.

Publication types

Review