Nivolumab for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma

Introduction Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide and up to recently, sorafenib was the only approved systemic treatment options. In recent years, many other treatment options have received approval for advanced HCC, including nivolumab, a Programmed-Death-1 (PD-1) inhibitor.Areas covered We review the current treatment landscape of HCC, an overview of the characteristics of nivolumab and current ongoing and completed trials of nivolumab.Expert opinion Nivolumab is generally well tolerated and has modest single-agent activity as a monotherapy in advanced HCC. Further studies are required to better explore its role as part of combination approaches, in adjuvant/neoadjuvant setting, as well as to understand the impact of sequencing of its use with other systemic therapy options.