Neoadjuvant Therapy for Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Zongyi Yin; Dongying Chen; Shuang Liang; Xiaowu Li

doi:10.2147/JHC.S357313

Neoadjuvant Therapy for Hepatocellular Carcinoma

J Hepatocell Carcinoma. 2022 Aug 31:9:929-946. doi: 10.2147/JHC.S357313. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Zongyi Yin^{1

2

3}, Dongying Chen^{3

4}, Shuang Liang¹, Xiaowu Li^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Shenzhen University General Hospital, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518055, People's Republic of China.
² Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Regional Immunity and Diseases & Carson International Cancer, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518055, People's Republic of China.
³ Shenzhen University Clinical Medical Academy Center, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518055, People's Republic of China.
⁴ Department of Anesthesiology, Shenzhen University General Hospital, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518055, People's Republic of China.

Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is characterized by low resection and high postoperative recurrence rates, and conventional treatment strategies have failed to meet clinical needs. Neoadjuvant therapy (NAT) is widely employed in the routine management of several solid tumors because it increases resectability and reduces the rate of postoperative recurrence. However, a consensus has not been reached regarding the effects of NAT on HCC. As systemic therapy, particularly targeted therapy and immunotherapy, is given for HCC treatment, accumulating evidence shows that the "spring" of NAT for HCC is imminent. In the future, HCC researchers should focus on identifying biomarkers for treatment response, explore the mechanisms of resistance, and standardize the endpoints of NAT.

Keywords: HCC; chemotherapy; hepatocellular carcinoma; immunotherapy; neoadjuvant therapy; systemic therapy.

Publication types

Review

Grants and funding

This study was supported by grants from National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant numbers 81430063, 8210140740, 82104597], Guangdong Provincial Science and Technology Program [grant numbers 2019B030301009], Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province of China [grant numbers 2021A1515012161], Guangdong Province Regional Joint Fund-Key Projects [grant numbers 2020B1515120096], Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation, Sanming Project of Medicine in Shenzhen [grant numbers SZSM202003009], Shenzhen Key Laboratory Foundation [grant numbers ZDSYS20200811143757022] and Shenzhen International Cooperative Research Project [grant numbers GJHZ20200731095210030].