GC Cell's Immunecell-LC shows potential as adjuvant therapy for HCC at ESMO

At the European Society of Medical Oncology Annual Congress (ESMO 2024) from Sept. 13 to 17, GC Cell drew attention by presenting its anticancer immune cell therapy ImmuneCell-LC Injection (LC autologous blood origin T lymphocytes) with positive clinical study results.

In a session on preoperative and postoperative adjuvant therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) at the ESMO 2024 in Barcelona, Spain, Professor Tim Meyer of UCL Cancer Institute, the U.K., spoke positively about immunotherapy's importance in treating HCC.

Professor Meyer presented the latest findings on treatment strategies for HCC and discussed the promise and limitations of immune-based therapies. In particular, Professor Mayer mentioned a study of anticancer therapy using autologous cytokine-induced killer cells (CIK) in Korea, which he described as an important clinical trial in early-stage HCC patients.

The study was a phase 3 trial of immunocelcizumab in 230 patients with HCC who had undergone curative resection (percutaneous ethanol injection, radiofrequency ablation, or surgical resection), showing a recurrence-free survival (RFS) rate of 37 percent (HR=0.63; 95 percent CI 0.43-0.94) and an overall survival (OS) rate of 79 percent. Longer-term follow-up of five years confirmed RFS of 33 percent (HR=0.67; 95 percent CI 0.48-0.94, P=0.01) and OS of 67 percent (HR=0.33; 95 percent CI, 0.15-0.76, P=0.006).

“The autologous CIK study in Korea was conducted in patients with small HCC, most of whom had undergone radiofrequency ablation,” Mayer said. “This study shows that adjuvant therapy can potentially improve long-term survival in patients with HCC. Improving recurrence-free survival may ultimately translate to overall survival, which is encouraging.”

Mayer also reviewed past studies and recent clinical trials of adjuvant therapy for HCC, providing an outlook for new therapies such as immune checkpoint inhibitors.

The first study mentioned was the STORM study, which administered sorafenib after surgery. This did not have a significant effect on preventing recurrence but provided an important baseline to assess patients' risk of recurrence.

In a Chinese trial of the anti-PD-1 immuno-oncology drug sintilimab in combination with bevacizumab, the RFS improved to 27.7 months in the sintilimab arm, compared to 15.5 months in the control arm, Mayer said. However, he noted that the study was limited in that the control group did not perform as well as expected.

Mayer also explained that in the IMbrave050 study, patients with high-risk HCC received the anti-PD-L1 Tecentriq (atezolizumab) plus bevacizumab initially improved RFS (HR=0.72). However, upon further follow-up, the recurrence-free survival curve began to converge with the active surveillance arm at 18 months.

“Based on the analysis with median follow-up data of 35.1 months, it became clear that the recurrence-free survival benefit was not maintained. The hazard ratio increased from 0.72 to 0.9 and was no longer significant,” Dr. Mayer said.

In conclusion, Dr. Mayer emphasized the potential of preoperative adjuvant therapy, which he said could advance the way patients are selected for continued treatment based on their response to therapy.

“Preoperative adjuvant therapy can be an important tool in patient selection and can proactively identify patients who respond to treatment,” he added.