Single-Cell Dissection of Liver Tumor Evolution in Response to Immunotherapy

About this Class

Abstract: Liver cancer, comprising mainly hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (iCCA), is one of the deadliest cancers in the world, with a five-year survival rate less than 20%. Immunotherapy has emerged as a promising treatment strategy against cancer. However, the efficacy in liver cancer is limited. It is known that less than 20% of HCC patients and fewer iCCA patients respond to immunotherapy, but it is unclear why some patients respond while others do not. Herein, we performed single-cell transcriptomic profiling of a prospective cohort of liver cancer patients who were enrolled at the NIH Clinical Center for immune checkpoint inhibition clinical trials. We developed an algorithm called Calculating Aggressiveness via Single Cell Analysis During Evolution (CASCADE), a novel tool to determine the evolution of a tumor ecosystem in response to treatment. Using this method, we were able to classify and validate tumor evolution and link it to patient outcome. Bio: Mahler Revsine is a CRTA postbaccalaureate fellow in the Laboratory of Human Carcinogenesis, CCR, NCI. He is supported by the NCI CCR Excellence in Postdoctoral Research Transition Award received by Dr. Lichun Ma. Under the supervision of Dr. Lichun Ma and Dr. Xin Wei Wang, Mahler mainly focuses on understanding liver tumor evolution using a single-cell approach. He graduated from the University of North Carolina in 2021 with bachelor’s degrees in both computer science and biology.