scholarly journals Current immunotherapeutic strategies in hepatocellular carcinoma: recent advances and future directions

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 805-814 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hwi Young Kim ◽  
Joong-Won Park
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
Immune Responses ◽  
Cancer Vaccines ◽  
Immune Checkpoint Blockade ◽  
Recurrence Rates ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Optimal Outcomes ◽  
Recent Advances ◽  
Promising Target ◽  
Tumor Stages

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.

Cancer vaccines for hepatocellular carcinoma: future directions

Immunotherapy ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 391-393 ◽  
Author(s):  
Franco M Buonaguro ◽  
Luigi Buonaguro
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
Cancer Vaccines ◽  
Future Directions

scholarly journals Icaritin Induces Anti-tumor Immune Responses in Hepatocellular Carcinoma by Inhibiting Splenic Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cell Generation

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huimin Tao ◽  
Mingyu Liu ◽  
Yuan Wang ◽  
Shufeng Luo ◽  
Yongquan Xu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
Immune Responses ◽  
Cytotoxic T Cells ◽  
Suppressor Cells ◽  
Suppressor Cell ◽  
Extramedullary Hematopoiesis ◽  
Immune Checkpoint Blockade ◽  
Myeloid Derived Suppressor Cell ◽  
Tumor Tissues

Recent studies have demonstrated that splenic extramedullary hematopoiesis (EMH) is an important mechanism for the accumulation of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) in tumor tissues, and thus contributes to disease progression. Icaritin, a prenylflavonoid derivative from plants of the Epimedium genus, has been implicated as a novel immune-modulator that could prolong the survival of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients. However, it is unclear whether icaritin achieves its anti-tumor effects via the regulation of MDSCs generated by EMH in HCC. Here, we investigated the anti-tumor potential of icaritin and its mechanism of action in murine HCC. Icaritin suppressed tumor progression and significantly prolonged the survival of mice-bearing orthotopic and subcutaneous HCC tumors. Rather than exerting direct cytotoxic activity against tumor cells, icaritin significantly reduced the accumulation and activation of tumoral and splenic MDSCs, and increased the number and activity of cytotoxic T cells. Mechanistically, icaritin downregulates the tumor-associated splenic EMH, thereby reducing the generation and activation of MDSCs. The inhibitory effects of icaritin on human MDSCs in vitro were verified in short-term culture with cord-blood derived hematopoietic precursors. Furthermore, icaritin synergistically enhanced the therapeutic efficacy of immune checkpoint blockade therapy in HCC mice. These findings revealed that icaritin dampens tumoral immunosuppression to elicit anti-tumor immune responses by preventing MDSC generation via the attenuation of EMH. Thus, icaritin may serve as a novel adjuvant or even a stand-alone therapeutic agent for the effective treatment of HCC.

scholarly journals Cancer Vaccines and Immunotherapy for Tumor Prevention and Treatment

Vaccines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 1298
Author(s):  
Jagmohan Singh ◽  
Wilbur B. Bowne ◽  
Adam E. Snook
Keyword(s):  
Immune Responses ◽  
Cancer Vaccines ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Prevention And Treatment ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Tumor Prevention ◽  
Therapeutic Cancer Vaccines ◽  
Made In

In this editorial, we highlight articles published in this Special Issue of Vaccines on “Cancer Vaccines and Immunotherapy for Tumor Prevention and Treatment”, recent developments in the field of cancer vaccines, and the potential for immunotherapeutic combinations in cancer care. This issue covers important developments and progress being made in the cancer vaccine field and possible future directions for exploring new technologies to produce optimal immune responses against cancer and expand the arena of prophylactic and therapeutic cancer vaccines for the treatment of this deadly disease.

scholarly journals Alpha-fetoprotein: A molecular bootstrap for hepatocellular carcinoma

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 92-95
Author(s):  
Ashokachakkaravarthy Kandasamy ◽  
Biju Pottakkat
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
Immune Responses ◽  
Immune Evasion ◽  
Fetal Liver ◽  
Tumor Biology ◽  
Embryonic Stem ◽  
Alpha Fetoprotein ◽  
Recurrence Rates ◽  
Differentiated Cells ◽  
Poorly Differentiated

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is well known for its aggressive nature and high recurrence rates. Alpha- fetoprotein (AFP) secreting tumors are more common in HCC. However, a few proportion of HCC do not produce AFP more than the basal level. AFP secreting tumors are more aggressive in nature since the ability of AFP to promote effective progression, growth, and metastasis of tumor. AFP also intervenes the immune system to evade the immune responses against cancer cells. AFP-producing tumors contain poorly differentiated cells similar to embryonic stem cells of liver mimicking rapid replication, proliferation, and AFP secretion by fetal liver. In this review, we highlight the crucial roles of AFP in immune evasion, aggressiveness, progression, and tumor biology of HCC.

scholarly journals Recent Advances in Immunotherapy for Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Cancers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 775 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shigeharu Nakano ◽  
Yuji Eso ◽  
Hirokazu Okada ◽  
Atsushi Takai ◽  
Ken Takahashi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
Systemic Treatment ◽  
Checkpoint Inhibitors ◽  
Treatment Options ◽  
Immune Checkpoint Blockade ◽  
Multicentric Occurrence ◽  
Recent Success ◽  
Recent Advances ◽  
The Status ◽  
Cancer Immunotherapies

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the leading causes of cancer-related death since most patients are diagnosed at advanced stage and the current systemic treatment options using molecular-targeted drugs remain unsatisfactory. However, the recent success of cancer immunotherapies has revolutionized the landscape of cancer therapy. Since HCC is characterized by metachronous multicentric occurrence, immunotherapies that induce systemic and durable responses could be an appealing treatment option. Despite the suppressive milieu of the liver and tumor immunosurveillance escape mechanisms, clinical studies of checkpoint inhibitors in patients with advanced HCC have yielded promising results. Here, we provide an update on recent advances in HCC immunotherapies. First, we describe the unique tolerogenic properties of hepatic immunity and its interaction with HCC and then review the status of already or nearly available immune checkpoint blockade-based therapies as well as other immunotherapy strategies at the preclinical or clinical trial stage.

scholarly journals Immune checkpoint blockade in hepatocellular carcinoma: Current progress and future directions

Hepatology ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 60 (5) ◽  
pp. 1776-1782 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tai Hato ◽  
Lipika Goyal ◽  
Tim F. Greten ◽  
Dan G. Duda ◽  
Andrew X. Zhu
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
Immune Checkpoint ◽  
Immune Checkpoint Blockade ◽  
Checkpoint Blockade ◽  
Future Directions

scholarly journals Current Strategies for Tumor Photodynamic Therapy Combined With Immunotherapy

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianfeng Hua ◽  
Pan Wu ◽  
Lu Gan ◽  
Zhikun Zhang ◽  
Jian He ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Photodynamic Therapy ◽  
Immune Responses ◽  
Immune Suppression ◽  
Cancer Vaccines ◽  
Tumor Metastasis ◽  
Immune Checkpoint Blockade ◽  
Clinical Applications ◽  
Antitumor Therapy ◽  
Combination Strategies ◽  
Immune Adjuvants

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a low invasive antitumor therapy with fewer side effects. On the other hand, immunotherapy also has significant clinical applications in the treatment of cancer. Both therapies, on their own, have some limitations and are incapable of meeting the demands of the current cancer treatment. The efficacy of PDT and immunotherapy against tumor metastasis and tumor recurrence may be improved by combination strategies. In this review, we discussed the possibility that PDT could be used to activate immune responses by inducing immunogenic cell death or generating cancer vaccines. Furthermore, we explored the latest advances in PDT antitumor therapy in combination with some immunotherapy such as immune adjuvants, inhibitors of immune suppression, and immune checkpoint blockade.

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