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Adoptive T-cell immunotherapy may treat hepatocellular carcinoma

LONDON — Hepatocellular carcinoma may be treated using adoptive T-cell therapy, according to data from a study presented at the International Liver Congress.

Researchers in Germany conducted a study using predominant HLA-A2 bound glypican-3 (GPC3) peptides to target GPC3 epitopes on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells. GPC3 is a tumor-associated antigen expressed in up to 70% of HCC, but not in healthy human tissue, according to a press release.

Researchers used an allo-restricted stimulation approach to isolate tumor reactive T cells, according to the study, and dendritic cells from HLA-A2 negative donors were co-transfected with GPC3 and HLA-A2 RNA and used to stimulate and expand T cells from the autologous naive T-cell repertoire. After expanded, the cells were cloned and “the most specific and active T-cell receptor was isolated,” the release said.

By isolating GPC-3-specific T-cell receptors and expressing them on patients’ T cells, researchers said they could treat HCC because the cells recognized and eliminated GPC3-positive HCC.

“Liver transplant is an option for only 10% to 15% of HCC carriers diagnosed at an early stage, and therefore the importance of other treatment options for patients is critical,” researchers said in the release. “This is a treatment gap that adoptive T-cell therapy could potentially fill.”

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.

For more information:

Dargel C. #098: T-cell Re-direction against Glypican-3 for Immunotherapy of Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) Presented at: The International Liver Congress 2014; April 9-13, London.