Immunologic Correlates of Pathologic Complete Response to Preoperative Immunotherapy in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

In hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), surgical resection is associated with high recurrence rate, and no effective adjuvant therapy currently exists. We initiated a pilot randomized trial of perioperative immunotherapy with nivolumab and ipilimumab for resectable HCC. Here, we provide an illustrative report of a case that achieved a complete response and report immunologic correlates of this complete pathologic response to perioperative immunotherapy. Clinical response was correlated with an increase in CD8⁺ T-cell infiltration, with an increase in two effector T-cell clusters. This study is ongoing, and the final results may contribute to a paradigm shift in the perioperative treatment of HCC, leading to the incorporation of immunotherapy in the curative setting.