Liver cancer is one of the deadliest malignancies, with increasing incidence worldwide. Recent advances in immunotherapy have expanded the options for systemic therapy against advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but there are no biomarkers currently available to predict which patients will respond, leading to suboptimal patient selection strategies. Understanding of the genetic and immunologic features of HCC is accelerating rapidly through the use of single cell and spatial transcriptomic techniques. However, there is a need to translate insights gained through these new studies to improve treatment options and improve patient selection. In this review we summarize knowledge of the immunogenomics of HCC, emphasizing recent advances, and discuss progress toward clinical translation.

BACKGROUND: Bricks have been manufactured in Nepal for hundreds of years and are seen as a component of Nepalese sculpture and architecture. Large quantities of hazardous materials including high concentrations of particulate matter are emitted on a daily basis from brick kilns. Exposure to these hazardous materials can lead to adverse consequences on the environment and human health. This study was conducted to  estimate the prevalence of respiratory symptoms/illnesses and the magnitude of respirable and total dust exposures among Nepalese brick kiln workers. METHODS: Respiratory symptoms/illnesses were evaluated by questionnaire among brickfield workers (n = 400) and a referent group of grocery workers (n = 400) in Kathmandu valley. Work zones (WZs): green brick molding (GBM), green brick stacking/carrying (GBS/C), red brick loading/carrying (RBL/C), coal preparation (CP) and firemen (FM) were the similar exposure groups (SEGs) from where personal air samples and interviews were taken. Among brickfield workers, personal monitoring was conducted across SEGs for total (n = 89) and respirable (n = 72) dust during February–March 2015 and March–April 2016. Applying multi-stage probability proportionate to size sampling technique, 16 kilns and 400 brick workers for interview were selected. Proportions, means, medians and ranges were calculated for the demographics, samples and respiratory symptoms/illnesses. One-way ANOVA was applied to compare the significance differences of the level of particulate matter among SEGs. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis were performed to evaluate association between respiratory symptoms/illnesses and participants groups, and SEGs among brick kiln workers at 0.05 level. Statistical analyses were performed using IBM SPSS Statistics 21. RESULTS: Chronic cough (14.3%), phlegm (16.6%) and bronchitis (19.0%) were higher (P < 0.05) among brickfield compared with grocery workers (6.8, 5.8 and 10.8%). Mean respirable (5.888 mg/m3) and total (20.657 mg/m3) dust exposures were highest for red brick loading tasks. The prevalence of chronic cough, chronic phlegm, chronic bronchitis, wheezing and asthma were significantly higher for other WZs workers (p < 0.05) compared with CP; for GBM: 22.9, 34.6, 15.0 and 7.5%; for GBS/C: 13.5, 15.8, 10.0, 8.8 and 7.5%; for RBL/C: 11.1, 17.1, 27.4, 19.0 and 11.9%; for FM: 18.4, 12.5, 28.4, 4.9 and 0.0%; and for CP: 4.9, 6.3, 13.3, 9.3 and 4.0% respectively. CONCLUSION: High dust exposures identified in this study may explain the increased prevalence of respiratory symptoms/illnesses among Nepalese brickfield workers, warranting action to reduce exposures.
Asthma ; Bronchitis ; Bronchitis, Chronic ; Coal ; Cough ; Demography ; Dust ; Fungi ; Hazardous Substances ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Nepal* ; Particulate Matter* ; Prevalence ; Respiratory Sounds ; Sculpture