Dr. Abou-Alfa on Trials Investigating Immunotherapy in HCC

Ghassan K. Abou-Alfa, MD, medical oncologist, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses trials investigating immunotherapy in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

The field of immunotherapy is moving very rapidly based on solid data, explains Abou-Alfa. Preclinical data demonstrate that evidence is there regarding PD-1/PD-L1 expression as well as other markers for checkpoint inhibitors.

The CheckMate-040 trial, which is investigating nivolumab (Opdivo) in patients with HCC, demonstrated that nearly 260 patients had a continued response rate of 20%.