Immunological and molecular correlates of disease recurrence after liver resection for hepatocellular carcinoma.

The definition of the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) recurrence after resection represents a central issue to improve the clinical management of patients. In this study we examined the prognostic relevance of infiltrating immune cell subsets in the tumor (TIL) and in nontumorous (NT) liver (LIL), and the expression of immune-related and lineage-specific mRNAs in HCC and NT liver derived from 42 patients. The phenotype of infiltrating cells was analyzed by flow cytometry, and mRNA expression in liver tissue was examined by real-time reverse transcription (RT)-PCR.

Increased immunostimulatory activity conferred to antigen-presenting cells by exposure to antigen extract from hepatocellular carcinoma after radiofrequency thermal ablation.

Radiofrequency thermal ablation represents an effective treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and it can also exert an "adjuvant" effect on spontaneous antitumor T-cell responses, as suggested by human and animal studies. The adjuvant effect is thought to depend on the huge amount of necrotic tumor antigen made available to the immune system by HCC thermal ablation. In addition, radiofrequency thermal ablation may result in the release of local stimuli responsible for activation and maturation of antigen-presenting cells (APCs).

Radiofrequency thermal ablation of hepatocellular carcinoma liver nodules can activate and enhance tumor-specific T-cell responses.

Radiofrequency thermal ablation (RFA) destroys tumoral tissue generating a local necrosis followed by marked inflammatory response with a dense T-cell infiltrate. In this study, we tested whether hepatocellular carcinoma thermal ablation can induce or enhance T-cell responses specific for hepatocellular carcinoma-associated antigens. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells derived from 20 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma were stimulated before and a month after RFA treatment with autologous hepatocellular carcinoma-derived protein lysates obtained before and immediately after RFA treatment.