Lee HD, Yuan LY. Nano-revolution in hepatocellular carcinoma: A multidisciplinary odyssey - Are we there yet? World J Hepatol 2024; 16(5): 684-687 [PMID: 38818296 DOI: 10.4254/wjh.v16.i5.684]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Howard D Lee, MD, Department of Medicine, Division of Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases, Keck School of Medicine of University of Southern California, 1975 Zonal Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90033, United States. howard.lee@med.usc.edu
Research Domain of This Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Article-Type of This Article
Editorial
Open-Access Policy of This Article
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/
World J Hepatol. May 27, 2024; 16(5): 684-687 Published online May 27, 2024. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v16.i5.684
Nano-revolution in hepatocellular carcinoma: A multidisciplinary odyssey - Are we there yet?
Howard D Lee, Li-Yun Yuan
Howard D Lee, Li-Yun Yuan, Department of Medicine, Division of Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases, Keck School of Medicine of University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, United States.
Author contributions: Lee HD and Yuan LY consulted and analyzed literature and wrote this manuscript; and both authors have read and approved of the final manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have nothing to disclose.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (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: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Howard D Lee, MD, Department of Medicine, Division of Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases, Keck School of Medicine of University of Southern California, 1975 Zonal Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90033, United States. howard.lee@med.usc.edu
Received: February 17, 2024 Revised: April 8, 2024 Accepted: April 15, 2024 Published online: May 27, 2024 Processing time: 95 Days and 10 Hours
Abstract
In this editorial we comment on the review by Zhou et al reviewing the landscape of nanomedicine in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We focus on the immense potential of nanotechnology, particularly ligand-receptor mediated nanotherapy, in revolutionizing the treatment landscape of HCC. Despite advancements in multidisciplinary treatment, HCC remains a significant global health challenge. Ligand-mediated nanotherapy offers the opportunity for precise drug delivery to tumor sites, targeting specific receptors overexpressed in HCC cells, thereby enhancing efficacy and minimizing side effects. Overcoming drug resistance and aggressive tumor biology is facilitated by nanomedicine, bypassing traditional hurdles encountered in chemotherapy. Examples include targeting glypican-3, asialoglycoprotein, transferrin receptor or folic acid receptors, capitalizing on their over-expression in tumor cells. The ability for multi-receptor targeting through dual-ligand nanoparticle modification holds the prospect of further enhancement in specificity and efficacy of directed therapy. However, challenges including immune responses, reproducibility in nanoparticle synthesis, and production scalability remain. Future directions involve refining targeting strategies, improving drug release mechanisms, and streamlining production processes to enable personalized and multifunctional nanotherapies. Overall, the integration of nanotherapy in HCC treatment holds immense promise, but continued partnership and effort are needed in offering hope for more effective, precise, and accessible clinical care in the management of HCC.
Core Tip: Despite recent advances in locoregional and systemic therapy for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma, current conventional treatment of advanced disease only offers limited survival benefit. Systemic therapy is particularly constrained by the inability for precise targeting of tumor cells, thus leading to systemic adverse effects and decreased efficacy in treatment. Nanotherapy holds the potential to overcome these traditional constraints but remains primarily a proof of concept at this juncture with in vivo studies in animal models. Further research and collaboration will ultimately lead to clinical applicability.
