New Strategies and Clinical Translation Progress in Immunotherapy for Liver Cancer Volume II

Liver cancer is a malignant tumor characterized by high incidence and mortality rates worldwide. According to the latest epidemiological data, liver cancer ranks among the top malignancies in terms of both incidence and mortality, with numerous new cases diagnosed each year. 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.