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Copyright ©The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Sep 28, 2015; 21(36): 10314-10326
Published online Sep 28, 2015. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v21.i36.10314
Potentiality of immunotherapy against hepatocellular carcinoma
Nobuhiro Tsuchiya, Yu Sawada, Itaru Endo, Yasushi Uemura, Tetsuya Nakatsura
Nobuhiro Tsuchiya, Yasushi Uemura, Tetsuya Nakatsura, Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center, Kashiwa 277-8577, Japan
Nobuhiro Tsuchiya, Yu Sawada, Itaru Endo, Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Yokohama City University, Yokohama 236-0004, Japan
Author contributions: Tsuchiya N and Nakatsura T drafted the manuscript; Sawada Y, Endo I and Uemura Y revised the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: Nakatsura T was supported by funding from Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. and is a scientific advisor for Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Conflict-of-interest statement: Nakatsura T was supported by funding from Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. and is a scientific advisor for Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Tetsuya Nakatsura, MD, PhD, Chief, Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center, 6-5-1 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa 277-8577, Japan. tnakatsu@east.ncc.go.jp
Telephone: +81-4-71315490 Fax: +81-4-71336606
Received: March 17, 2015
Peer-review started: March 18, 2015
Peer-review started: March 18, 2015
First decision: April 13, 2015
First decision: April 13, 2015
Revised: May 21, 2015
Accepted: August 29, 2015
Article in press: August 31, 2015
Article in press: August 31, 2015
Published online: September 28, 2015
Processing time: 195 Days and 1.6 Hours
Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the predominant form of primary liver cancer, is the fifth most common cancer worldwide and the second leading cause of cancer-related death. Despite the high incidence, treatment options remain limited for advanced HCC, and as a result prognosis continues to be poor. Current therapeutic options, surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, have only modest efficacy. New treatment modalities to prolong survival and to minimize the risk of adverse response are desperately needed for patients with advanced HCC. Tumor immunotherapy is a promising, novel treatment strategy that may lead to improvements in both treatment-associated toxicity and outcome. The strategies have developed in part through genomic studies that have yielded candidate target molecules and in part through basic biology studies that have defined the pathways and cell types regulating immune response. Here, we summarize the various types of HCC immunotherapy and argue that the newfound field of HCC immunotherapy might provide critical advantages in the effort to improve prognosis of patients with advanced HCC. Already several immunotherapies, such as tumor-associated antigen therapy, immune checkpoint inhibitors and cell transfer immunotherapy, have demonstrated safety and feasibility in HCC patients. Unfortunately, immunotherapy currently has low efficacy in advanced stage HCC patients; overcoming this challenge will place immunotherapy at the forefront of HCC treatment, possibly in the near future.

Keywords: Cell transfer immunotherapy; Cytokine therapy; Hepatocellular carcinoma; Immune checkpoint inhibitors; Immunotherapy; Tumor-associated antigens therapy

Core tip: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has a high incidence and poor prognosis worldwide. Tumor immunotherapy is a promising novel therapy that will lead to improvements in both treatment-associated toxicity and outcome. This review summarizes current knowledge concerning the progress of immunotherapy for HCC.