Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40377687›Full record

ArticleCancer immunology, immunotherapy : CII2025

Carry-over effect of immunotherapy in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma.

Chien-Huai Chuang, Ching-Tso Chen, Chih-Hung Hsu, Yu-Yun Shao

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Cancer immunology, immunotherapy : CII, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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0 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Chien-Huai ChuangDepartment of Medical Oncology, National Taiwan University Cancer Center, Taipei, Taiwan.
Ching-Tso ChenDepartment of Oncology, National Taiwan University Hospital, 7 Chung-Shan South Road, Taipei, 10002, Taiwan.
Chih-Hung HsuDepartment of Medical Oncology, National Taiwan University Cancer Center, Taipei, Taiwan.
Yu-Yun ShaoDepartment of Medical Oncology, National Taiwan University Cancer Center, Taipei, Taiwan. yuyunshao@gmail.com.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCombination immunotherapy is the current standard for treating advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The response elicited by upfront immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) might influence the efficacy of salvage therapy, a phenomenon known as the carry-over effect. This effect is thought to stem from immune memory and sustained immune activation, providing extended protection against tumor progression and resulting in a durable response even after discontinuation of ICI. This study aimed to investigate the carry-over effect of first-line ICI therapy in patients with advanced HCC.

methodsPatients who received first-line ICI therapy for advanced HCC from December 2017 to December 2021 were included if they exhibited disease progression and received second-line systemic therapy. We analyzed the associations between clinical benefit (classified as complete, partial response and stable disease) of first-line ICI therapy, post-progression survival (PPS) and second-line progression-free survival (PFS). We used a historical cohort of patients receiving first-line multikinase inhibitor (MKI) for comparison.

resultsA total of 137 patients were analyzed. We included 60 patients who received first-line ICI therapy, of which clinical benefit was detected in 46 (76.7%). Compared with patients without clinical benefit of first-line ICI therapy, patients with clinical benefit exhibited significantly longer PPS (median: 14.6 vs. 4.9 months, P = 0.024) and second-line PFS (median: 3.6 vs. 1.6 months, P = 0.027). In multivariate analysis, clinical benefit of first-line ICI therapy remained an independent predictor of PPS [hazard ratio (HR): 0.295, P = 0.005] and second-line PFS (HR: 0.484, P = 0.047). Conversely, clinical benefit was not associated with PPS among patients receiving first-line MKI therapy in both univariate and multivariate analysis in historical MKI cohort.

conclusionsClinical benefit of first-line ICI therapy was associated with PPS and second-line PFS in patients with advanced HCC, suggestive of the carry-over effect of ICI.

Indexed as

Carcinoma, HepatocellularImmune Checkpoint InhibitorsImmunotherapyLiver NeoplasmsAdultAgedAged, 80 and overFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedRetrospective StudiesImmune Checkpoint InhibitorsCarry-over effectClinical benefitHepatocellular carcinomaImmunotherapyPrognosisSurvival

Identifiers

PMID40377687
PMCPMC12084203

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.