Immunotherapy for Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Recent Progress and Future Prospects

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the leading cause of death from cancer, and current standard care is ineffective, particularly in advanced stages. In recent years, with the development of cancer immunotherapy, immunotherapy has provided promising approach for HCC, such as the ICIs, the CAR-T cell therapy and the oncolytic viruses. However, resistance and variability of biomarkers remain challenging aspects. For example, CAR-T cell therapies targeting glypican-3, AFP, and mesothelin in HCC are very encouraging, but the manufacturing of CAR-T cells faces hurdles due to the immunosuppressive liver microenvironment. In this regard, oncolytic viruses such as T-VEC and Oncorine, as well as ICIs, offer the potential to selectively destroy tumor cells while activating the immune system. However, consistent challenges such as resistance, adverse immune-related events and drug delivery mechanisms hinder the clinical translation of these drugs. Future studies should address core issues such as optimizing combination therapy, improving predictive biomarkers, and providing solutions to resistance and toxicity for HCC patients.