Evidence mapPaperPMID 41898542Full record

ReviewInternational journal of molecular sciences2026

Liver Transplantation Following Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Therapy: What Do We Need to Know from Clinical and Immunological Perspective?

Hee Sun Cho, Soon Kyu Lee

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In one paragraph

Review in International journal of molecular sciences, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors.

Hee Sun ChoDepartment of Internal Medicine, Division of Hepatology, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06591, Republic of Korea.ORCID 0009-0001-6587-5081
Soon Kyu LeeThe Catholic University Liver Research Center, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06591, Republic of Korea.ORCID 0000-0003-1865-8225

Funding

Korea Health Technology R&D Project through the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI), funded by the Ministry of Health & Welfare, Republic of Korea RS-2025-25459150National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (Ministry of Science and ICT, MSIT) RS-2024-00451810
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have transformed the therapeutic landscape of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), establishing immunotherapy-based combinations as the standard of care. Improved treatment responses have expanded liver transplant eligibility for selected patients with advanced HCC through downstaging or bridging strategies. Such advances have directly influenced transplant candidacy and post-transplant outcomes. However, accumulating evidence indicates that pretransplant exposure to ICIs may disrupt post-transplant immune homeostasis, increasing the risk of acute allograft rejection and graft failure requiring retransplantation. From an immunological perspective, rejection following pretransplant ICI therapy predominantly manifests as T cell-mediated rejection and is characterized by the sustained activation of effector T cells and impairment of regulatory immune pathways. Blockade of immune checkpoint signaling interferes with mechanisms critical for allograft tolerance, including T cell apoptosis and regulatory T cell induction. Recent studies further underscore the importance of the washout period between ICI discontinuation and LT, with longer washout intervals being associated with lower rejection rates. Importantly, timely recognition and appropriate immunosuppressive management can often resolve acute rejection without adversely affecting long-term graft outcomes. This review integrates current immunological insights with emerging clinical evidence to inform optimal transplant timing and management strategies for liver transplant candidates receiving ICIs.

Indexed as

Carcinoma, HepatocellularGraft RejectionImmune Checkpoint InhibitorsLiver NeoplasmsLiver TransplantationHumansImmunosuppressive AgentsImmune Checkpoint InhibitorsImmunosuppressive Agentshepatocellular carcinomaimmune checkpoint inhibitorsliver transplantationrejectionT cell

Identifiers

PMID41898542
PMCPMC13026230

What Socratic holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.