GALNT14-rs9679162 Genotypes Predict Post-immunotherapy Side Effect and Survival in Patients with Hepatitis B...

Genomic alterations have been reported to correlate with patients' response to immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The present study aimed to examine whether single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) is associated with ICI treatment-related side effects and progression-free survival (PFS) in HCC patients.

This retrospective study included 96 patients with HBV-related HCC receiving ICI (atezolizumab plus bevazizumab) therapy between 2020 and 2023. Five SNPs derived from a previous genome-wide association study linking to chemotherapy responses in HCC patients were included. Their predictive values for PFS and side effects were examined.

After ICI therapy, patients with GALNT14-rs9679162 "GG" genotype (median PFS = 19.7 months, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 12.3-35.7; p = 0.032) had a longer PFS, whereas GALNT14-rs675230, BMP7-rs6025211, WWOX-rs13338697 or WWOX-rs13333314 were not associated with PFS (all p > 0.05). GALNT14-rs9679162 "GG" genotype (odds ratio [OR] = 0.298, 95% CI: 0.096-0.926; p = 0.036) was also associated with a decreased risk of post-treatment high-grade aspartate aminotransferase (AST) elevation. Multivariate analysis showed that GALNT14-rs9679162 "GG" genotype (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.433, 95% CI: 0.212-0.886; p = 0.022) and high initial albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) grade (HR = 2.053, 95% CI: 1.153-3.590; p = 0.014) were independently associated with PFS.

Genetic variant of an SNP, GALNT14-rs9679162, predicts post-treatment PFS and side effect in HBV-related HCC patients receiving ICIs therapy.