Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors As Bridge Therapy For Hepatocellular Carcinoma Before Liver Transplantation:A Single Center Retrospective Study

[Objective]Hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)is the second most common cause of cancer-related death.The traditional treatment includes local regional therapy and systemic therapy.When patients with HCC develop irreversible liver function damage after receiving the above therapy and can’t tolerate further therapy,liver transplantation(LT)is the only feasible solution.In recent years,ICI have developed rapidly in the treatment of HCC,but because of the high risk of rejection when using ICI before LT,it is relatively taboo to use ICI drugs before the operation.In this study,the data of 37 patients with HCC treated with ICI before LT in our hospital were collected,observe the effect of the use of ICI before LT on the patients who had received LT,and to further evaluate the safety and effectiveness of ICI as bridge therapy before liver transplantation.[Methods]1.Selecting a total of 37 HCC patients who underwent liver transplantation in the shulan HangZhou Hospital from May 1,2019 to December 31,2022 and all these patients received downstaging treatment including ICI drugs before transplantation.2.Collecting the relevant clinical data before and after transplantation.[Results]1.After ICI related anti-tumor downstaging treatment before transplantation,24 patients(65%)reached the disease control standard,and the disease control rate(DCR)was 65%;16 patients(44%)reached the objective remission standard,and the objective remission rate(ORR)was 44%.2.There are 2(5%)patients who met the inclusion criteria had graft rejection after liver transplantation.[Conclusion]Studies have shown that the use of ICI before liver transplantation for HCC is relatively safe and effective.It is necessary to closely monitor the liver function and deal with related rejection in time.ICI drugs can be used as bridge therapy before liver transplantation for liver cancer.