When immunotherapy meets liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma: A bumpy but promising road.

ABSTRACT: Liver transplantation (LT) is a highly curative therapy for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, due to the shortage of donor livers and rapid progression of HCC, a majority of patients are dropped out from the waitlist. Recently, immunotherapy has shown great promise in the treatment of advanced HCC. However, the use of immunotherapy is limited in LT mainly due to the potentially increasing risk of graft rejection. One of the main challenges for researchers is the protection of donor graft from an immunotherapy-boosted immune response mounted by the host. Besides, the safety, availability, and costs of immunotherapy are other challenges that need to be addressed. Here, we reviewed the literature involving patients who received immunotherapy prior to transplant to avoid w

SUBMITTER: Gu Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10167603 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature