TY - JOUR
T1 - Current immunotherapeutic strategies in hepatocellular carcinoma
T2 - Recent advances and future directions
AU - Kim, Hwi Young
AU - Park, Joong Won
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was supported by a grant from the National Cancer Center, Korea (#1510520).
Publisher Copyright:
© SAGE Publications.
PY - 2017/10/1
Y1 - 2017/10/1
N2 - Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common and serious health problem with high mortality. Treatment for HCC remains largely unsatisfactory owing to its high recurrence rates and frequent accompanying cirrhosis. In addition, the unique immune environment of the liver promotes tolerance, which, in conjunction with immune evasion by the disease, makes HCC a less promising target for conventional immunotherapy. However, recent advances in the immunotherapy have led to novel approaches to overcome these obstacles by manipulating and enhancing tumor-specific immune responses against HCC by using various modalities, such as cancer vaccines and immune checkpoint blockade. These treatments have shown both safety and promising outcomes in patients with HCC of various etiologies and tumor stages. Furthermore, combined strategies have been assessed to achieve optimal outcomes, by using immunotherapies with or without conventional treatments. This review briefly covers the background, recent advances, current issues, and future perspectives on immunotherapy in the field of HCC treatment.
AB - Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common and serious health problem with high mortality. Treatment for HCC remains largely unsatisfactory owing to its high recurrence rates and frequent accompanying cirrhosis. In addition, the unique immune environment of the liver promotes tolerance, which, in conjunction with immune evasion by the disease, makes HCC a less promising target for conventional immunotherapy. However, recent advances in the immunotherapy have led to novel approaches to overcome these obstacles by manipulating and enhancing tumor-specific immune responses against HCC by using various modalities, such as cancer vaccines and immune checkpoint blockade. These treatments have shown both safety and promising outcomes in patients with HCC of various etiologies and tumor stages. Furthermore, combined strategies have been assessed to achieve optimal outcomes, by using immunotherapies with or without conventional treatments. This review briefly covers the background, recent advances, current issues, and future perspectives on immunotherapy in the field of HCC treatment.
KW - clinical trial
KW - hepatocellular carcinoma
KW - immunotherapy
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85030776652&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/1756283X17722061
DO - 10.1177/1756283X17722061
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:85030776652
SN - 1756-283X
VL - 10
SP - 805
EP - 814
JO - Therapeutic Advances in Gastroenterology
JF - Therapeutic Advances in Gastroenterology
IS - 10
ER -