Immunotherapy of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

In this book we provide insights into liver - cancer and immunology. Experts in the field provide an overview over fundamental immunological questions in liver cancer and tumorimmunology, which form the base for immune based approaches in HCC, which gain increasing interest in the community due to first promising results obtained in early clinical trials.   

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third most common cause of cancer related death in the United States. Treatment options are limited. Viral hepatitis is one of the major risk factors for HCC, which represents a typical 'inflammation-induced' cancer.

Immune-based treatment approaches have revolutionized oncology in recent years. Various treatment strategies have received FDA approval including dendritic cell vaccination, for prostate cancer as well as immune checkpoint inhibition targeting the CTLA4 or the PD1/PDL1 axis in melanoma, lung, and kidney cancer. Additionally, cell based therapies (adoptive T cell therapy, CAR T cells and TCR transduced T cells) have demonstrated significant efficacy in patients with B cell malignancies and melanoma. Immune checkpoint inhibitors in particular have generated enormous excitement across the entire field of oncology, providing a significant benefit to a minority of patients.

Professor Tim F. Greten has received his training in Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Medical Oncology. He has been treating patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) for many years has been leading a number of clinical trials. Apart from his clinical expertise Professor Greten has been interested in the immunological aspects of HCC for more than 20 years. He is conducting basic research studies, which he published in the very top scientific journals including Nature, and Cancer Cell and is also a pioneer in immunotherapy studies in HCC. He published a number of different clinical trials testing different immune based approaches in HCC. Based on this medical and basic science background is considered on the world leaders in tumor immunology and immunotherapy of HCC.