Author information

¹Unit of Medical Oncology 2, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Pisana, 56126 Pisa, Italy.

²Institute of Interdisciplinary Research "Health Science", Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Piazza Martiri della Libertà 33, 56124 Pisa, Italy.

³Department of Translational Research and New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy.

Abstract

Liver transplantation (LT) represents the primary curative option for HCC. Despite the extension of transplantation criteria and conversion with down-staging loco-regional treatments, transplantation is not always possible. The introduction of new standards of care in advanced HCC including a combination of immune checkpoint inhibitor-based therapies led to an improvement in response rates and could represent a promising strategy for down-staging the tumor burden. In this review, we identify reports and series, comprising a total of 43 patients who received immune checkpoint inhibitors as bridging or down-staging therapies prior to LT. Overall, treated patients registered an objective response rate of 21%, and 14 patients were reduced within the Milan criteria. Graft rejection was reported in seven patients, resulting in the death of four patients; in the remaining cases, LT was performed safely after immunotherapy. Further investigations are required to define the duration of immune checkpoint inhibitors, their minimum washout period and the LT long-term safety of this strategy. Some randomized clinical trials including immunotherapy combinations, loco-regional treatment and/or tyrosine kinase inhibitors are ongoing and will likely determine the appropriateness of immune checkpoint inhibitors' administration before LT.