GC Cell Reveals Real-World Data Study Proving Efficacy and Safety of Immuncell-LC at European Conference

GC Cell (GC Cell) announced on the 14th that it presented the real-world data (RWD) research results of the autologous immune cell therapy Imucell LC injection at the European Society of Surgical Oncology (ESSO) conference held earlier this month in Antwerp, Belgium.

Imucell LC injection is an adjuvant therapy applied after curative treatment to reduce recurrence rates and improve survival in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. Through this study, the excellent efficacy of Imucell LC injection for hepatocellular carcinoma was demonstrated, and it was explained that the possibility of showing outstanding effects especially in patients at high risk of recurrence was confirmed.

This study was conducted by applying Imucell LC injection within 6 months after surgery to 36 out of 1,292 patients who underwent liver resection due to liver cancer at Ajou University Hospital from 2007 to 2022, and comparing propensity scores by 1:1 matching with a control group of 36 patients who did not receive the treatment. As a result, in patients with stage 2 and 3 liver cancer according to the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) criteria, the 2-year recurrence-free survival (RFS) after liver resection with Imucell LC injection therapy showed a hazard ratio of 0.22, and overall survival (OS) was significantly improved with a hazard ratio of 0.09. In particular, 8 patients who received Imucell LC injection 16 times or more showed results of 75% RFS and 100% OS at the 3-year mark.

The overall incidence of side effects was 16.7% in the Imucell LC injection treatment group and 30.6% in the control group, indicating that the Imucell LC injection therapy was also superior in terms of safety.

Professor Bong-Wan Kim, a professor of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery at Ajou University Hospital who conducted this study, said, “According to current global liver cancer treatment guidelines, liver cancer is known to have frequent micro-metastases through microvascular invasion, so even if visible lesions are completely resected by surgery, recurrence is common due to microscopic residual cancer cells already metastasized around.” He added, “Although the prognosis of high-stage liver cancer is very poor, Imucell LC injection treatment is thought to have had a significant effect in high-stage hepatocellular carcinoma because it can eliminate micro-metastatic lesions that cannot be removed by surgery.”