Molecular pathological subtypes of hepatocellular carcinoma based on tumor microenvironment and their immunotherapy strategies
GAO Qiang
LIU Yu-ming
Abstract：The tumor microenvironment(TME)is the cornerstone and core of immunotherapy for hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC).HCC is highly heterogeneous,with significant differences in molecular pathological features between different etiologies and individuals.HCC lacks targetable driver genes and driver gene-guided targeted therapies,making TME an important entry point for integrating and classifying these diverse patients.Based on TME,HCC can be classified into inflammatory and non-inflammatory subtypes.Patients with inflammatory HCC can potentially benefit from monotherapy or combination therapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors(ICIs),while non-inflammatory patients require combination therapy with ICIs and angiogenesis inhibitors or tyrosine kinase inhibitors(TKIs)to enhance efficacy.Additionally,potential therapeutic strategies still in the experimental stage include targeting specific molecular pathways such as Wnt/β-catenin,and strategies to convert cold tumors into hot tumors by promoting T cell activation and expansion through immunoadjuvants,oncolytic viruses,tumor vaccines,radiotherapy,and chemotherapy.Adoptive cell therapies,especially chimeric antigen receptor T-cell(CAR-T)therapy,have shown great potential in the treatment of HCC.Furthermore,antibody-drug conjugates(ADCs)combined with immunotherapy and bispecific antibody therapies are promising new directions for future treatment development.
Keywords：hepatocellular carcinomamolecular characteris-ticspathological characteristicstumor microenvironmentim-munotherapy
Publication Date：2024-09-01
Online Publishing Date：2025-08-15(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：7( 1015-1021 )