Spatial transcriptomics analysis of neoadjuvant cabozantinib and nivolumab in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma identifies independent mechanisms of resistance and recurrence.

ABSTRACT: Novel immunotherapy combination therapies have improved outcomes for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but responses are limited to a subset of patients and recurrence can also occur. Little is known about the inter- and intra-tumor heterogeneity in cellular signaling networks within the HCC tumor microenvironment (TME) that underlie responses to modern systemic therapy. We applied spatial transcriptomics (ST) profiling to characterize the tumor microenvironment in HCC resection specimens from a clinical trial of neoadjuvant cabozantinib, a multi-tyrosine kinase inhibitor that primarily blocks VEGF, and nivolumab, a PD-1 inhibitor in which 5 out of 15 patients were found to have a pathologic response. ST profiling demonstrated that the TME of responding tumors was enriched for

SUBMITTER: Zhang S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9882076 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature