Tumor Microenvironment, Immunology and Precision Medicine of Liver Cancer
A special issue of Biomolecules (ISSN 2218-273X).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2025 | Viewed by 39
Special Issue Editor
Interests: liver cancer; tumor microenvironment; locoregional therapies; molecular therapies; translational research
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary liver cancer. Despite the variety of available treatments ranging from liver transplantation, resection, or locoregional therapies to systemic treatments, the prognosis of HCC remains unsatisfactory. Unlike other cancers, HCC responds less effectively to immunotherapies due to its complex tumor microenvironment (TME). One postulated factor is its deregulated cellular metabolism, which leads to an immune inhibitory TME characterized by elevated lactate and low pH. Additionally, HCC is frequently found to be hypoxic, which exacerbates metabolic reprogramming and contributes to immune evasion.
Among other immune cells, tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) can exhibit pro-tumorigenic function when they differentiate towards anti-inflammatory, M2-like subtypes. Given the high plasticity of TAMs, exploring relevant factors in the regulation of macrophage polarization could inform therapeutic decisions and improve the efficacy of immunomodulatory therapies.
In recent years, metabolite alterations, metabolic reprogramming, and potential immunometabolic crosstalk in the TME have attracted increasing attention. Exploring variations in immunity and metabolism in HCC from multiple dimensions and with various approaches may enter the scientific limelight again. This will be beneficial in providing sufficient biological information for the personalized and precise treatment of liver cancer.
Dr. Lynn Jeanette Savic
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- hepatocellular carcinoma
- hypoxia
- tumor microenvironment
- immunometabolic crosstalk
- tumor-associated macrophages
