Prediction of Responses of Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma to Anti-PD-1 Immunotherapy by T-cell Invigoration to Tumour Burden Ratio

Objective To explore the predictive value of T cell activation in peripheral blood of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) after anti PD-1 therapy and its ratio to tumor burden on the efficacy of immunotherapy.

Methods Serum specimens were obtained before and after treatment from 85 patients with HCC who received anti-PD-1 treatment. Indicators such as cell subpopulations and T cell activation were detected by flow cytometry. Combined with imaging analysis, cutoff value was obtained by X-tile software. Survival analysis was used to evaluate patients' outcomes.

Results The maximum fold change of Ki-67+/PD-1+/CD8+ T cells in treatment cycles and the tumor burden determined by imaging were associated with prognoses. The ratio of T cell Ki-67+/PD-1+/CD8+ expression to tumor burden ratio greater than 0.6 at the first cycle of anti-PD-1 immunotherapy was associated with improvements in progression-free survival and overall survival (P < 0.05).

Conclusion The ratio of activationa in T cells in peripheral blood after immunotherapy to the tumor burden may be related to the clinical efficacy of anti-PD-1 immunotherapy for HCC.