Emergence of immunotherapy as a novel way to treat hepatocellular carcinoma.

Emergence of immunotherapy as a novel way to treat hepatocellular carcinoma. World J Gastroenterol. 2018 May 07;24(17):1839-1858 Authors: Mukaida N, Nakamoto Y Abstract Tumor immunity proceeds through multiple processes, which consist of antigen presentation by antigen presenting cells (APCs) to educate effector cells and destruction by the effector cytotoxic cells. However, tumor immunity is frequently repressed at tumor sites. Malignantly transformed cells rarely survive the attack by the immune system, but cells that do survive change their phenotypes to reduce their immunogenicity. The resultant cells evade the attack by the immune system and form clinically discernible tumors. Tumor microenvironments simultaneously contain a wide variety of immune suppressive molecules and cells to dampen tumor immunity. Moreover, the liver microenvironment exhibits immune tolerance to reduce aberrant immune responses to massively-exposed antigens via the portal vein, and immune dysfunction is frequently associated with liver cirrhosis, which is widespread in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients. Immune therapy aims to reduce tumor burden, but it is also expected to prevent non-cancerous liver lesions from progressing to HCC, because HCC develops or recurs from non-cancerous liver lesions with chronic inflammatory states and/or cirrhosis and these lesions cannot be cured and/or eradicated by local and/or systemic therapies. Nevertheless, canc...
Source: World Journal of Gastroenterology : WJG - Category: Gastroenterology Authors: Tags: World J Gastroenterol Source Type: research