New Strategies and Clinical Translation Progress in Immunotherapy for Liver Cancer

  • 179

    Total views and downloads

Participate in this topic

Submit your idea

You will be redirected to our submission process.

Submit your manuscript summarySubmit your manuscript

About this Research Topic

Submission deadlines

  1. Manuscript Summary Submission Deadline 31 October 2025 | Manuscript Submission Deadline 28 February 2026

  2. This Research Topic is still accepting articles.

    1. Check author guidelines

Background

Liver cancer is a malignant tumor characterized by high incidence and mortality rates worldwide. According to the report by the World Health Organization, there were 865,269 new cases of liver cancer and 757,948 deaths from liver cancer worldwide in 2022. This imposes a substantial burden on patients' families and society. Due to the insidious nature of its early symptoms, most liver cancer cases are diagnosed at intermediate or advanced stages. Traditional treatment methods, such as surgical resection, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy, have shown limited efficacy, resulting in poor patient prognosis. Therefore, there is an urgent need to explore more effective therapeutic approaches.

In recent years, tumor immunotherapy strategies with unique mechanisms of action (e.g., PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors, CAR-T cell therapy) have emerged as a research hotspot and promising direction for liver cancer treatment, bringing new hope to patients. At the basic research level, cutting-edge techniques such as single-cell sequencing and spatial transcriptomics have gradually elucidated the dynamic interactions between tumor cells and immune cells within the liver cancer immune microenvironment. Clinically, immunotherapy combinations, such as atezolizumab plus bevacizumab, have reshaped international guidelines and significantly extended patient survival. Nevertheless, immunotherapy in liver cancer still faces several challenges, including low immune response rates, complex mechanisms of drug resistance, and difficulty managing adverse reactions. Thus, significant breakthroughs require further basic research, clinical translation, and multidisciplinary collaboration.

Simultaneously, the field of liver cancer immunotherapy is exhibiting a trend towards diversification. On one hand, new immunotherapeutic agents, such as bispecific antibodies and nanoparticle drug delivery systems, are continually emerging to potentially overcome the limitations of traditional therapies. On the other hand, integrating multi-omics analyses and artificial intelligence predictive models offers novel strategies for precisely identifying suitable patient populations and optimizing treatment regimens. However, the translation efficiency of these innovative techniques from laboratory research to clinical practice must be improved further, and discrepancies in diagnostic and treatment capabilities across regions limit widespread immunotherapy application. Therefore, systematically summarizing recent scientific and clinical achievements and exploring models for efficient clinical translation have become critical issues for current liver cancer treatment.

This Research Topic aims to bring together cutting-edge national and international research on liver cancer immunotherapy, emphasizing the development of novel therapeutic strategies, exploration of immune mechanisms, progress in clinical translation, and optimization of clinical practice. It intends to provide an academic platform for researchers and clinicians, fostering research innovation, technological advancement, and ultimately improving patient outcomes and quality of life.

We welcome submissions of Original Research and Review articles. Case Reports demonstrating significant implications for enhancing immunotherapeutic efficacy in liver cancer will also be considered. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
• Research and development of novel immune checkpoint inhibitors for liver cancer, underlying mechanisms, and combination treatment strategies.
• Liver cancer immunotherapy approaches targeting tumor microenvironment regulation and their clinical applications.
• Progress and clinical findings related to the development and evaluation of therapeutic tumor vaccines against liver cancer.
• Synergistic effects and clinical achievements from combining immunotherapy with targeted therapy, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or other anticancer modalities in liver cancer management.
• Clinical assessments and efficacy analyses of immunotherapy among liver cancer patients at varying disease stages and etiologies.
• Strategies for management, prediction, and optimization of treatment plans related to adverse reactions induced by liver cancer immunotherapy.
• Precision medicine research and clinical implementation based on biomarkers for liver cancer immunotherapy.
• Clinical translational research and applications of artificial intelligence in decision-making, efficacy prediction, and monitoring adverse reactions in liver cancer immunotherapy.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

  • Brief Research Report
  • Case Report
  • Classification
  • Clinical Trial
  • Community Case Study
  • Curriculum, Instruction, and Pedagogy
  • Data Report
  • Editorial
  • General Commentary

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

  • Brief Research Report
  • Case Report
  • Classification
  • Clinical Trial
  • Community Case Study
  • Curriculum, Instruction, and Pedagogy
  • Data Report
  • Editorial
  • General Commentary
  • Hypothesis and Theory
  • Methods
  • Mini Review
  • Opinion
  • Original Research
  • Perspective
  • Policy and Practice Reviews
  • Policy Brief
  • Review
  • Study Protocol
  • Systematic Review
  • Technology and Code

Keywords: Liver cancer, Immunotherapy, Clinical Translation, Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors, Combinational Therapy

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

Topic editors

Frequently asked questions

  • Frontiers' Research Topics are collaborative hubs built around an emerging theme.Defined, managed, and led by renowned researchers, they bring communities together around a shared area of interest to stimulate collaboration and innovation.

    Unlike section journals, which serve established specialty communities, Research Topics are pioneer hubs, responding to the evolving scientific landscape and catering to new communities.

  • The goal of Frontiers' publishing program is to empower research communities to actively steer the course of scientific publishing. Our program was implemented as a three-part unit with fixed field journals, flexible specialty sections, and dynamically emerging Research Topics, connecting communities of different sizes and maturity.

    Research Topics originate from the scientific community. Many of our Research Topics are suggested by existing editorial board members who have identified critical challenges or areas of interest in their field.

  • As an editor, Research Topics will help you build your journal, as well as your community, around emerging, cutting-edge research. As research trailblazers, Research Topics attract high-quality submissions from leading experts all over the world.

    A thriving Research Topic can potentially evolve into a new specialty section if there is sustained interest and a growing community around it.

  • Each Research Topic must be approved by the specialty chief editor, and it falls under the editorial oversight of our editorial boards, supported by our in-house research integrity team. The same standards and rigorous peer review processes apply to articles published as part of a Research Topic as for any other article we publish.

    In 2023, 80% of the Research Topics we published were edited or co-edited by our editorial board members, who are already familiar with their journal's scope, ethos, and publishing model. All other topics are guest edited by leaders in their field, each vetted and formally approved by the specialty chief editor.

  • Publishing your article within a Research Topic with other related articles increases its discoverability and visibility, which can lead to more views, downloads, and citations. Research Topics grow dynamically as more published articles are added, causing frequent revisiting, and further visibility.

    As Research Topics are multidisciplinary, they are cross-listed in several fields and section journals – increasing your reach even more and giving you the chance to expand your network and collaborate with researchers in different fields, all focusing on expanding knowledge around the same important topic.

    Our larger Research Topics are also converted into ebooks and receive social media promotion from our digital marketing team.

     

  • Frontiers offers multiple article types, but it will depend on the field and section journals in which the Research Topic will be featured. The available article types for a Research Topic will appear in the drop-down menu during the submission process.

    Check available article types here 

  • Yes, we would love to hear your ideas for a topic. Most of our Research Topics are community-led and suggested by researchers in the field. Our in-house editorial team will contact you to talk about your idea and whether you’d like to edit the topic. If you’re an early-stage researcher, we will offer you the opportunity to coordinate your topic, with the support of a senior researcher as the topic editor. 

    Suggest your topic here 

  • A team of guest editors (called topic editors) lead their Research Topic. This editorial team oversees the entire process, from the initial topic proposal to calls for participation, the peer review, and final publications.

    The team may also include topic coordinators, who help the topic editors send calls for participation, liaise with topic editors on abstracts, and support contributing authors. In some cases, they can also be assigned as reviewers.

  • As a topic editor (TE), you will take the lead on all editorial decisions for the Research Topic, starting with defining its scope. This allows you to curate research around a topic that interests you, bring together different perspectives from leading researchers across different fields and shape the future of your field. 

     

    You will choose your team of co-editors, curate a list of potential authors, send calls for participation and oversee the peer review process, accepting or recommending rejection for each manuscript submitted.

  • As a topic editor, you're supported at every stage by our in-house team. You will be assigned a single point of contact to help you on both editorial and technical matters. Your topic is managed through our user-friendly online platform, and the peer review process is supported by our industry-first AI review assistant (AIRA).

  • If you’re an early-stage researcher, we will offer you the opportunity to coordinate your topic, with the support of a senior researcher as the topic editor. This provides you with valuable editorial experience, improving your ability to critically evaluate research articles and enhancing your understanding of the quality standards and requirements for scientific publishing, as well as the opportunity to discover new research in your field, and expand your professional network.

  • Yes, certificates can be issued on request. We are happy to provide a certificate for your contribution to editing a successful Research Topic.

  • Research Topics thrive on collaboration and their multi-disciplinary approach around emerging, cutting-edge themes, attract leading researchers from all over the world.

  • As a topic editor, you can set the timeline for your Research Topic, and we will work with you at your pace. Typically, Research Topics are online and open for submissions within a few weeks and remain open for participation for 6 – 12 months. Individual articles within a Research Topic are published as soon as they are ready.

    Find out more about our Research Topics

  • Our fee support program ensures that all articles that pass peer review, including those published in Research Topics, can benefit from open access – regardless of the author's field or funding situation.

    Authors and institutions with insufficient funding can apply for a discount on their publishing fees. A fee support application form is available on our website.

  • In line with our mission to promote healthy lives on a healthy planet, we do not provide printed materials. All our articles and ebooks are available under a CC-BY license, so you can share and print copies.

     

Manuscripts can be submitted to this Research Topic via the main journal or any other participating journal.

Submit your idea

You will be redirected to our submission process.

Submit your manuscript summarySubmit your manuscript

Impact

  • 179Topic views
View impact

Share on WeChat

Scan with WeChat to share this article