The following is a summary of “Immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment and immunotherapy of hepatocellular carcinoma: current status and prospectives,” published in the April 2024 issue of Hematology by Shen et al.
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) poses a significant global health burden, characterized by limited therapeutic modalities and dismal prognoses. In recent years, immunotherapeutic approaches, particularly immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), have emerged as promising systemic treatments for HCC. The landscape has witnessed a notable shift towards combination therapies leveraging ICIs, marking a significant stride in HCC management. Notably, the dual immune checkpoint blockade employing durvalumab plus tremelimumab has emerged as a potent regimen for advanced HCC.
However, the clinical benefits in patients with HCC remain modest, prompting a concerted effort to unravel the immunological intricacies and innovate strategies to enhance immunotherapeutic efficacy. In this comprehensive review, researchers encapsulate the latest advancements in this domain, highlighting ongoing clinical trials investigating immune-based combination therapies. Moreover, the study group delves into emerging immunotherapeutic paradigms, including chimeric antigen receptor T cells, personalized neoantigen vaccines, oncolytic viruses, and bispecific antibodies. This signified a promising frontier in HCC treatment innovation and refinement.
Source: jhoonline.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13045-024-01549-2
