Immunotherapy of hepatocellular carcinoma

Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) represents the third most common cause of cancer-related death worldwide and efficient treatment options are urgently needed. Based on its pathogenesis, in addition to a number of correlative studies, immunotherapy represents a potential therapeutic option for patients with HCC. However, tumors have also evolved numerous immune escape mechanisms, including the generation of cells with immune suppressor functions, such as Tregs and myeloid-derived suppressor cells. It has been shown that these suppressor cells mask tumor-specific immune responses in patients with HCC. Different immunotherapeutic approaches including peptide- and dendritic cell-based therapies have demonstrated promising results in patients with HCC. However, we propose that any of these immunotherapeutic approaches needs to be combined with a therapy specifically targeting suppressor cells in HCC.

Keywords::

• cancer vaccine
• dendritic cell
• immune suppressor mechanism
• immunotherapy
• myeloid-derived suppressor cell
• regulatory T cell
• tumor antigen

Financial & competing interests disclosure

This work was supported by grants from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG; KFO119) and by the Initiative and Networking Fund of the Helmholtz Association within the Helmholtz Alliance on Immunotherapy of Cancer. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.