Advances in immunotherapy for hepatocellular carcinomas

Abstract

Background: The landscape of systemic treatment for hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC) has drastically changed in recent years with the emergence of immunotherapies. Objective/research question: The effectiveness and safety of immunotherapies in patients with HCC and current evidence for stage-dependent treatment. Material and methods: Literature review and discussion of current studies on immunotherapy for patients with HCC. Results: Recent phase 3 studies demonstrate a significantly improved overall survival for combinations of immunotherapies in patients with advanced HCC compared to the previous standard treatment with tyrosine kinase inhibitors. This represents the new gold standard in first-line treatment. The use of immunotherapy in earlier stages of the disease is also being investigated in current studies with initial promising results. Conclusion: Immunotherapy combinations have sustainably improved the overall survival of patients with advanced stages of the disease. Combination treatments with locoregional and systemic treatment approaches are currently being tested in ongoing clinical trials. They are expected to change palliative treatment concepts for patients with HCC and to improve the prognosis.