Prognostic Factors Analysis in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma Receiving PD-1/PD-L1 Inhibitors.

BACKGROUND

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have revolutionized the treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC); however, only a minority of patients derive benefits, and reliable biomarkers remain lacking. This study aimed to investigate the associations between peripheral blood markers, clinical characteristics, and outcomes in patients receiving programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1)/programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitors.

METHODS

Clinical and laboratory data from 101 patients treated with PD‑1/PD‑L1 inhibitors were retrospectively analyzed. Optimal cutoff values for continuous variables were determined using the X‑tile. Intergroup comparisons were performed using Pearson's chi-squared or Fisher's exact tests. Univariate Cox regression (SPSS 26.0) was used to identify potential prognostic factors (P<0.1), which were further evaluated by Log rank test and Kaplan-Meier curves. Independent prognostic factors were determined using a multivariate Cox regression analysis.

RESULTS

The factors associated with efficacy included body mass index, Child‑Pugh class, line of treatment, distant metastasis, bone metastasis, alkaline phosphatase, and total bilirubin. Prognosis‑related indicators included lung metastasis, hemoglobin, absolute neutrophil count, alkaline phosphatase, gamma‑glutamyl transferase, C‑reactive protein, and the best response.

CONCLUSION

Based on routine clinical and hematological data, this prognostic study provides an accessible tool for personalized immunotherapy management of HCC.