# Preclinical exploration and current clinical applications of immunotherapeutic strategies for hepatocellular carcinoma

## TL;DR

This paper reviews immunotherapy strategies for liver cancer, focusing on their mechanisms, current use, and challenges like resistance and cost.

## Contribution

The paper provides a comprehensive overview of preclinical and clinical immunotherapies for HCC, highlighting emerging strategies and resistance mechanisms.

## Key findings

- Current immunotherapies reduce HCC mortality risk but face limitations due to tumor heterogeneity and immunosuppressive environments.
- High costs, drug resistance, and adverse events hinder widespread adoption of immunotherapies for HCC.
- Emerging approaches aim to improve immunotherapy effectiveness and address resistance in HCC treatment.

## Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the sixth most common cancer and the third leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Treatment of HCC has shifted from traditional modalities to immunotherapy-centered combination strategies. While the current immunotherapies can substantially reduce the risk of death for patients with HCC, overall survival improvement is limited because of tumor heterogeneity and an immunosuppressive microenvironment. Moreover, the widespread application of these treatments is challenged by high costs, drug resistance, and frequent adverse events. This review outlines the mechanisms of the available HCC immunotherapeutics and summarizes the preclinical explorations of these treatments. We also describe the current clinical applications and underlying mechanisms and discuss issues of resistance and heterogeneity. We further provide an overview of emerging approaches against cancer platforms in HCC, aiming to provide practical references for clinical immunotherapy of HCC.