The summaries are free for public
use. The Chronic Liver Disease
Foundation will continue to add and
archive summaries of articles deemed
relevant to CLDF by the Board of
Trustees and its Advisors.
Abstract Details
Mechanisms of Primary and Acquired Resistance to Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma
1Oncology Unit, Azienda USL Bologna, 40124 Bologna, Italy.
2Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy.
3Division of Internal Medicine, Hepatobiliary and Immunoallergic Diseases, IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, 40138 Bologna, Italy.
4Unit of Semeiotics, Liver and Alcohol-Related Diseases, IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, 40138 Bologna, Italy.
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common liver cancer and a relevant global health problem. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) represent the most effective systemic treatment for HCC. However, due to primary resistance, approximately 40% of HCC patients do not achieve a disease control with ICIs. Moreover, a similar proportion will experience disease progression after an initial response caused by secondary resistance. This review describes the mechanisms of primary and secondary resistance and reports the ongoing therapeutic strategies to overcome these obstacles.