Hepatocellular carcinoma immune prognosis score predicts the clinical outcomes of hepatocellular carcinoma patients receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors

Abstract Objective The predictive biomarkers of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) still need to be further explored. This study aims to establish a new immune prognosis biomarker to predict the clinical outcomes of hepatocellular carcinoma patients receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors. Methods The subjects of this study were 151 HCC patients receiving ICIs at Harbin Medical University Cancer Hospital from January 2018 to December 2021. This study collected a wide range of blood parameters from patients before treatment and used Cox’s regression analysis to identify independent prognostic factors in blood parameters, as well as their β coefficient. The hepatocellular carcinoma immune prognosis score (HCIPS) was established through Lasso regression analysis and COX multivariate analysis. The cut-off value of HCIPS was calculated from the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Finally, the prognostic value of HCIPS was validated through survival analysis, stratified analyses, and nomograms. Results HCIPS was composed of albumin (ALB) and thrombin time (TT), with a cut-off value of 0.64. There were 56 patients with HCIPS