Immunotherapy of hepatocellular carcinoma: recent progress and new strategy

Jiarui Li; Shihai Xuan; Peng Dong; Ze Xiang; Ce Gao; Mo Li; Lan Huang; Jian Wu

doi:10.3389/fimmu.2023.1192506

Immunotherapy of hepatocellular carcinoma: recent progress and new strategy

Front Immunol. 2023 May 10:14:1192506. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1192506. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Jiarui Li¹, Shihai Xuan², Peng Dong³, Ze Xiang¹, Ce Gao⁴, Mo Li⁴, Lan Huang⁴, Jian Wu⁴

Affiliations

¹ Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
² Department of Laboratory Medicine, The People's Hospital of Dongtai City, Dongtai, China.
³ Hangzhou Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, Affiliated Hospital of Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China.
⁴ Department of Clinical Laboratory, The Affiliated Suzhou Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Suzhou Municipal Hospital, Gusu School, Nanjing Medical University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China.

Abstract

Due to its widespread occurrence and high mortality rate, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is an abhorrent kind of cancer. Immunotherapy is a hot spot in the field of cancer treatment, represented by immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), which aim to improve the immune system's ability to recognize, target and eliminate cancer cells. The composition of the HCC immune microenvironment is the result of the interaction of immunosuppressive cells, immune effector cells, cytokine environment, and tumor cell intrinsic signaling pathway, and immunotherapy with strong anti-tumor immunity has received more and more research attention due to the limited responsiveness of HCC to ICI monotherapy. There is evidence of an organic combination of radiotherapy, chemotherapy, anti-angiogenic agents and ICI catering to the unmet medical needs of HCC. Moreover, immunotherapies such as adoptive cellular therapy (ACT), cancer vaccines and cytokines also show encouraging efficacy. It can significantly improve the ability of the immune system to eradicate tumor cells. This article reviews the role of immunotherapy in HCC, hoping to improve the effect of immunotherapy and develop personalized treatment regimens.

Keywords: adoptive cellular therapy; cancer vaccines; cytokines; hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC); immune checkpoint inhibitors; immunotherapy.

Publication types

Review
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Carcinoma, Hepatocellular*
Combined Modality Therapy
Cytokines
Humans
Immunotherapy
Liver Neoplasms*
Tumor Microenvironment

Substances

Cytokines

Grants and funding

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 82272396) and Suzhou Medical and Health Science and Technology Innovation Project (No. SKY2022057).