Journal Article DKFZ-2021-00722

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NASH limits anti-tumour surveillance in immunotherapy-treated HCC.

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2021
Nature Publ. Group52462 London [u.a.]

Nature <London> 592(7854), 450-456 () [10.1038/s41586-021-03362-0]
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Abstract: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) can have viral or non-viral causes1-5. Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is an important driver of HCC. Immunotherapy has been approved for treating HCC, but biomarker-based stratification of patients for optimal response to therapy is an unmet need6,7. Here we report the progressive accumulation of exhausted, unconventionally activated CD8+PD1+ T cells in NASH-affected livers. In preclinical models of NASH-induced HCC, therapeutic immunotherapy targeted at programmed death-1 (PD1) expanded activated CD8+PD1+ T cells within tumours but did not lead to tumour regression, which indicates that tumour immune surveillance was impaired. When given prophylactically, anti-PD1 treatment led to an increase in the incidence of NASH-HCC and in the number and size of tumour nodules, which correlated with increased hepatic CD8+PD1+CXCR6+, TOX+, and TNF+ T cells. The increase in HCC triggered by anti-PD1 treatment was prevented by depletion of CD8+ T cells or TNF neutralization, suggesting that CD8+ T cells help to induce NASH-HCC, rather than invigorating or executing immune surveillance. We found similar phenotypic and functional profiles in hepatic CD8+PD1+ T cells from humans with NAFLD or NASH. A meta-analysis of three randomized phase III clinical trials that tested inhibitors of PDL1 (programmed death-ligand 1) or PD1 in more than 1,600 patients with advanced HCC revealed that immune therapy did not improve survival in patients with non-viral HCC. In two additional cohorts, patients with NASH-driven HCC who received anti-PD1 or anti-PDL1 treatment showed reduced overall survival compared to patients with other aetiologies. Collectively, these data show that non-viral HCC, and particularly NASH-HCC, might be less responsive to immunotherapy, probably owing to NASH-related aberrant T cell activation causing tissue damage that leads to impaired immune surveillance. Our data provide a rationale for stratification of patients with HCC according to underlying aetiology in studies of immunotherapy as a primary or adjuvant treatment.

Classification:

Note: #EA:F180#LA:F180# /592(7854):450-456 / #DKFZ-MOST-Ca181#

Contributing Institute(s):
  1. Chronische Entzündung und Krebs (F180)
  2. DKTK Koordinierungsstelle München (MU01)
  3. DKTK Koordinierungsstelle Tübingen (TU01)
  4. KKE Dermatoonkologie (A370)
  5. A190 Vaskuläre Onkologie und Metastasierung (A190)
  6. B066 Chromatin-Netzwerke (B066)
  7. Core Facility-Kleintierbildgebung (W240)
Research Program(s):
  1. 316 - Infektionen, Entzündung und Krebs (POF4-316) (POF4-316)

Appears in the scientific report 2021
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Medline ; BIOSIS Previews ; Biological Abstracts ; Chemical Reactions ; Clarivate Analytics Master Journal List ; Current Contents - Agriculture, Biology and Environmental Sciences ; Current Contents - Life Sciences ; Current Contents - Physical, Chemical and Earth Sciences ; Ebsco Academic Search ; Essential Science Indicators ; IF >= 40 ; Index Chemicus ; JCR ; NationallizenzNationallizenz ; SCOPUS ; Science Citation Index Expanded ; Web of Science Core Collection ; Zoological Record
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 Record created 2021-03-29, last modified 2025-11-13



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