Harnessing the Power of Immunotherapy in HCC and BTC: An Expert Exploration of the Past, Present, and Future of Checkpoint Inhibition

• Describe the fundamental contribution of immune system dysregulation to the pathophysiology of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and biliary tract cancer (BTC).
• Explain the pharmacologic rationale for integrating immune checkpoint inhibition into the HCC/BTC armamentarium.
• Review practical aspects of using immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in HCC/BTC, including dosing, approved indications, and immune-mediated adverse event (imAE) mitigation and management strategies.
• Appraise the rapidly evolving clinical trial evidentiary base and regulatory landscape for ICI-based regimens in HCC and BTC, with an emphasis on current expert consensus guideline recommendations.
• Evaluate clinical trial designs and study schemas for ICI-based treatments in HCC and BTC, focusing on established pivotal readouts and prominent prospective studies.

Supported through an independent educational grant from AstraZeneca.

It is the policy of Creative Educational Concepts, LLC, (CEC) to ensure independence, balance, objectivity, and scientific rigor and integrity in all their CME/CE activities. Activity planners, faculty, peer reviewers, and CEC staff must disclose to the participants any relationships with ineligible entities whose products or devices may be mentioned in this CE activity, or with the commercial supporter of this CE activity. An ineligible entity is defined as any entity producing, marketing, re-selling, or distributing health care goods or services consumed by, or used on, patients. Financial relationships may include research grants, consultant fees, travel, advisory boards, consultancy, speakers’ bureaus, other benefits, or having a self-managed equity interest in a company.

CEC has evaluated, identified, and mitigated any potential conflicts of interest through a rigorous content validation procedure, use of evidence-based data/research, and a multidisciplinary peer review process. The following information is for participant information only. It is not assumed that these relationships will have a negative impact on the presentations.

Planner/Faculty:
James J. Harding, MD–has disclosed that he receives research support from Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol Myers Squib, Codiak, CytomX, Eli Lilly, Genoscience, Incyte, Loxo @ Lilly,  Novartis, Polaris, and Yiviv. He is also an advisor or consultant to Bristol Myers Squib, Eisai, Exelexis, Hepion, Imvax, Medivir, QED, and Zymewor.

Faculty:
R. Katie Kelley, MD–has disclosed that she receives research support from Agios, AstraZeneca, Bayer, Bristol Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, EMD Serono, Exelixis, Genentech/Roche, LOXO oncology, Merck, Novartis, QED therapeutics, Relay Therapeutics, Surface Oncology, and Taiho. She also is an advisor or consultant to Exact Sciences and Kinnate. She is an advisor or consultant to Agios, AstraZeneca, Exelixis, Ipsen, and Merck with compensation to her institution and her institution receives grant funding from Partner Therapeutics.
Riad Salem, MD, MBA–has disclosed that he is an advisor or consultant to AstraZeneca, Autem, Bard, Boston Scientific, Cook, Eisai, Genentech, Merck, and Merit.

Peer Reviewer:
Darren Cowzer, MD–has no relevant financial relationships to disclose in relation to the content of this activity.

CEC Staff/Planners:
Susan H. Gitzinger, PharmD, MPA–has no relevant financial relationships to disclose in relation to the content of this activity.
Rebecca Weaver, CHCP–has no relevant financial relationships to disclose in relation to the content of this activity.

Faculty of this CME/CE activity may include discussions of products or devices that are not currently labeled for use by the FDA. The faculty have been informed of their responsibility to disclose to the audience if they will be discussing off-label or investigational uses (any uses not approved by the FDA) of products or devices. CEC, the faculty, and any commercial supporter of this activity do not endorse the use of any product outside of the FDA labeled indications. Medical professionals should not utilize the procedures, products, or diagnosis techniques discussed during this activity without evaluation of their patient for contraindications or dangers of use.