中文｜English
ISSN 1001-5256 (Print)
ISSN 2097-3497 (Online)
CN 22-1108/R
Volume 41 Issue 8
Aug.  2025
Turn off MathJax
Article Contents
Article Navigation >  Journal of Clinical Hepatology  > 2025  >  41(8): 1481-1486

The latest advances in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma

DOI: 10.12449/JCH250801

  • Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery and Liver Transplantation，Zhongshan Hospital，Fudan University，Shanghai 200032，China

More Information
  • Corresponding author: ZHOU Jian， zhou.jian@zs-hospital.sh.cn （ORCID： 0000-0002-2118-1117）
  • Received Date: 2025-07-11
  • Accepted Date: 2025-07-26
  • Published Date: 2025-08-25
    Abstract
  • Hepatocellular carcinoma （HCC） is a severely detrimental global public health issue， and its incidence and mortality rates remain at a high level. According to the data from the World Health Organization， there were 866 000 new cases of HCC and 759 000 deaths worldwide in 2022， and it is predicted that by 2040， there will be significant increases in the numbers of new cases and deaths due to HCC. In the face of these great challenges， significant advances have been made in the diagnosis and treatment of HCC in recent years， and from the improvements in traditional surgeries and local treatment to groundbreaking innovations in targeted therapy and immunotherapy and the application of the concept of precision medicine， various treatment methods have provided more treatment options and survival opportunities for patients with different stages. This article reviews the advances in the treatment of HCC and analyzes current therapeutic difficulties and future development directions， in order to provide a reference for clinical practice and academic research.

     

    • FullText(HTML)
  • loading
    • References(36)
  • [1]
    MORIS D, MARTININO A, SCHILTZ S, et al. Advances in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma: An overview of the current and evolving therapeutic landscape for clinicians[J]. CA Cancer J Clin, 2025. DOI: 10.3322/caac.70018.[ Online ahead of print]
    [2]
    MUELLER S, MILLONIG G, SEITZ HK. Alcoholic liver disease and hepatitis C: A frequently underestimated combination[J]. World J Gastroenterol, 2009, 15( 28): 3462- 3471. DOI: 10.3748/wjg.15.3462.
    [3]
    YANG C, ZHANG HL, ZHANG LM, et al. Evolving therapeutic landscape of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma[J]. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol, 2023, 20( 4): 203- 222. DOI: 10.1038/s41575-022-00704-9.
    [4]
    ORCUTT ST, ANAYA DA. Liver resection and surgical strategies for management of primary liver cancer[J]. Cancer Control, 2018, 25( 1): 1073274817744621. DOI: 10.1177/1073274817744621.
    [5]
    YIN L, LI H, LI AJ, et al. Partial hepatectomy vs transcatheter arterial chemoembolization for resectable multiple hepatocellular carcinoma beyond Milan Criteria: A RCT[J]. J Hepatol, 2014, 61( 1): 82- 88. DOI: 10.1016/j.jhep.2014.03.012.
    [6]
    WANG Z, PENG YF, HU JW, et al. Associating liver partition and portal vein ligation for staged hepatectomy for unresectable hepatitis B virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma: A single center study of 45 patients[J]. Ann Surg, 2020, 271( 3): 534- 541. DOI: 10.1097/SLA.0000000000-002942.
    [7]
    HUANG XY, DU W, ZHANG W, et al. Sequential hepatic artery infusion chemotherapy and transarterial chemoembolization combined with anti-vascular endothelial growth factor antibody/tyrosine kinase inhibitors and immune checkpoint inhibitors(quadruple therapy) as first-line therapy for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma: A single-center retrospective cohort study[J]. J Clin Oncol, 2025, 43( 16_suppl): e16180. DOI: 10.1200/jco.2025.43.16_suppl.e16180
    [8]
    AKULA V, CHEN L, ACIKGOZ Y, et al. Neoadjuvant immune checkpoint inhibitors for hepatocellular carcinoma[J]. NPJ Precis Oncol, 2025, 9( 1): 60. DOI: 10.1038/s41698-025-00846-4.
    [9]
    QIN SK, CHEN MS, CHENG AL, et al. Atezolizumab plus bevacizumab versus active surveillance in patients with resected or ablated high-risk hepatocellular carcinoma(IMbrave050): A randomised, open-label, multicentre, phase 3 trial[J]. Lancet, 2023, 402( 10415): 1835- 1847. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(23)01796-8.
    [10]
    PAVEL MC, FUSTER J. Expansion of the hepatocellular carcinoma Milan criteria in liver transplantation: Future directions[J]. World J Gastroenterol, 2018, 24( 32): 3626- 3636. DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v24.i32.3626.
    [11]
    TONIUTTO P, FUMOLO E, FORNASIERE E, et al. Liver transplantation in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma beyond the Milan criteria: A comprehensive review[J]. J Clin Med, 2021, 10( 17): 3932. DOI: 10.3390/jcm10173932.
    [12]
    MEHTA N, FRENETTE C, TABRIZIAN P, et al. Downstaging outcomes for hepatocellular carcinoma: Results from the multicenter evaluation of reduction in tumor size before liver transplantation(MERITS-LT) consortium[J]. Gastroenterology, 2021, 161( 5): 1502- 1512. DOI: 10.1053/j.gastro.2021.07.033.
    [13]
    REZAEE-ZAVAREH MS, YEO YH, WANG TL, et al. Impact of pre-transplant immune checkpoint inhibitor use on post-transplant outcomes in HCC: A systematic review and individual patient data meta-analysis[J]. J Hepatol, 2025, 82( 1): 107- 119. DOI: 10.1016/j.jhep.2024.06.042.
    [14]
    SHI GM, WANG JP, HUANG XW, et al. Graft programmed death ligand 1 expression as a marker for transplant rejection following anti-programmed death 1 immunotherapy for recurrent liver tumors[J]. Liver Transpl, 2021, 27( 3): 444- 449. DOI: 10.1002/lt.25887.
    [15]
    TAO KS, YANG ZX, ZHANG X, et al. Gene-modified pig-to-human liver xenotransplantation[J]. Nature, 2025, 641( 8064): 1029- 1036. DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-08799-1.
    [16]
    LYU N, WANG X, LI JB, et al. Arterial chemotherapy of oxaliplatin plus fluorouracil versus sorafenib in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma: A biomolecular exploratory, randomized, phase III trial(FOHAIC-1)[J]. J Clin Oncol, 2022, 40( 5): 468- 480. DOI: 10.1200/JCO.21.01963.
    [17]
    SANGRO B, KUDO M, ERINJERI JP, et al. Durvalumab with or without bevacizumab with transarterial chemoembolisation in hepatocellular carcinoma(EMERALD-1): A multiregional, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 study[J]. Lancet, 2025, 405( 10474): 216- 232. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(24)02551-0.
    [18]
    KUDO M, REN ZG, GUO YB, et al. Transarterial chemoembolisation combined with lenvatinib plus pembrolizumab versus dual placebo for unresectable, non-metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma(LEAP-012): A multicentre, randomised, double-blind, phase 3 study[J]. Lancet, 2025, 405( 10474): 203- 215. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(24)02575-3.
    [19]
    DAWSON LA, WINTER KA, KNOX JJ, et al. NRG/RTOG 1112: Randomized phase III study of sorafenib vs stereotactic body radiation therapy(SBRT) followed by sorafenib in hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)[J]. J Clin Oncol, 2023, 41( 4_suppl): 489. DOI: 10.1200/jco.2023.41.4_suppl.489.
    [20]
    O’KANE GM, MESCI AM, CHEN EX, et al. Pembrolizumab and stereotactic radiotherapy combined in subjects with advanced HCC: A phase II study(PEMRAD)[J]. J Clin Oncol, 2025, 43( 4_suppl): 602. DOI: 10.1200/jco.2025.43.4_suppl.602.
    [21]
    LLOVET JM, RICCI S, MAZZAFERRO V, et al. Sorafenib in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma[J]. N Engl J Med, 2008, 359( 4): 378- 390. DOI: 10.1056/nejmoa0708857.
    [22]
    KUDO M, FINN RS, QIN SK, et al. Lenvatinib versus sorafenib in first-line treatment of patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma: A randomised phase 3 non-inferiority trial[J]. Lancet, 2018, 391( 10126): 1163- 1173. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(18)30207-1.
    [23]
    KELLEY RK, RYOO BY, MERLE P, et al. Second-line cabozantinib after sorafenib treatment for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma: A subgroup analysis of the phase 3 CELESTIAL trial[J]. ESMO Open, 2020, 5( 4): e000714. DOI: 10.1136/esmoopen-2020-000714.
    [24]
    ZHU AX, KANG YK, YEN CJ, et al. Ramucirumab after sorafenib in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma and increased α-fetoprotein concentrations(REACH-2): A randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial[J]. Lancet Oncol, 2019, 20( 2): 282- 296. DOI: 10.1016/S1470-2045(18)30937-9.
    [25]
    YAU T, PARK JW, FINN RS, et al. Nivolumab versus sorafenib in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma(CheckMate 459): A randomised, multicentre, open-label, phase 3 trial[J]. Lancet Oncol, 2022, 23( 1): 77- 90. DOI: 10.1016/S1470-2045(21)00604-5.
    [26]
    FINN RS, QIN SK, IKEDA M, et al. Atezolizumab plus bevacizumab in unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma[J]. N Engl J Med, 2020, 382( 20): 1894- 1905. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1915745.
    [27]
    GALLE PR, DECAENS T, KUDO M, et al. Nivolumab(NIVO) plus ipilimumab(IPI) vs lenvatinib(LEN) or sorafenib(SOR) as first-line treatment for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma(uHCC): First results from CheckMate 9DW[J]. J Clin Oncol, 2024, 42( 17_suppl): LBA4008. DOI: 10.1200/jco.2024.42.17_suppl.lba4008.
    [28]
    REN ZG, XU JM, BAI YX, et al. Sintilimab plus a bevacizumab biosimilar(IBI305) versus sorafenib in unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma(ORIENT-32): A randomised, open-label, phase 2-3 study[J]. Lancet Oncol, 2021, 22( 7): 977- 990. DOI: 10.1016/S1470-2045(21)00252-7.
    [29]
    XU JM, ZHANG YQ, WANG G, et al. SCT-I10A combined with a bevacizumab biosimilar(SCT510) versus sorafenib in the first-line treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma: A randomized phase 3 trial[J]. J Clin Oncol, 2024, 42( 16_suppl): 4092. DOI: 10.1200/jco.2024.42.16_suppl.4092.
    [30]
    QIN SK, CHAN SL, GU SZ, et al. Camrelizumab plus rivoceranib versus sorafenib as first-line therapy for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma(CARES-310): A randomised, open-label, international phase 3 study[J]. Lancet, 2023, 402( 10408): 1133- 1146. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(23)00961-3.
    [31]
    ZHOU J, BAI L, LUO J, et al. Anlotinib plus penpulimab versus sorafenib in the first-line treatment of unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma(APOLLO): A randomised, controlled, phase 3 trial[J]. Lancet Oncol, 2025, 26( 6): 719- 731. DOI: 10.1016/S1470-2045(25)00190-1.
    [32]
    FAN J, ZHOU J, HUANG XW, et al. Phase I study of Ori-C101, an armored GPC3-directed CAR-T, in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)[J]. J Clin Oncol, 2025, 43( 16_suppl): 4084. DOI: 10.1200/jco.2025.43.16_suppl.4084.
    [33]
    ZHU AX, ABBAS AR, de GALARRETA MR, et al. Molecular correlates of clinical response and resistance to atezolizumab in combination with bevacizumab in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma[J]. Nat Med, 2022, 28( 8): 1599- 1611. DOI: 10.1038/s41591-022-01868-2.
    [34]
    FU SY, DEBES JD, BOONSTRA A. DNA methylation markers in the detection of hepatocellular carcinoma[J]. Eur J Cancer, 2023, 191: 112960. DOI: 10.1016/j.ejca.2023.112960.
    [35]
    BARTOLOMUCCI A, NOBREGA M, FERRIER T, et al. Circulating tumor DNA to monitor treatment response in solid tumors and advance precision oncology[J]. NPJ Precis Oncol, 2025, 9( 1): 84. DOI: 10.1038/s41698-025-00876-y.
    [36]
    YOU HY, WANG JF, MA RX, et al. Clinical interpretability of deep learning for predicting microvascular invasion in hepatocellular carcinoma by using attention mechanism[J]. Bioengineering(Basel), 2023, 10( 8): 948. DOI: 10.3390/bioengineering10080948.
    • Relative Articles
    • Supplements(0)
    • Cited By
  • 加载中

Catalog

    通讯作者: 陈斌, bchen63@163.com
    • 1. 

      沈阳化工大学材料科学与工程学院 沈阳 110142

    1. 本站搜索
    2. 百度学术搜索
    3. 万方数据库搜索
    4. CNKI搜索
    Get Citation
    PDF
    XML

    Article Metrics

    Article views (774) PDF downloads(481) Cited by()
    Proportional views
    Related
        

    The first journal specializing in hepatobiliary and pancreatic diseases in China

    Supervisor：Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China

    Sponsor：Jilin University

    Academic Support: Chinese Society of Hepatology，Chinese Medical Association

    Address: 461 Xinjiang Road, Changchun

    Submit：0431-88782044

    Peer review：0431-88783542

    Email：lcgdb@vip.163.com

    About Journal

    Submission Guideline

    Journal Online

    Hepatobiliary College

    Guidelines

    YesterdayIP[]YesterdayPV[]TodayIP[]TodayPV[]Online[]

    Website Design © 2020 Editorial Board of Journal of Clinical Hepatology 吉ICP备10000617号-1 Supported by: Beijing Renhe Information Technology Co. Ltd  

    /

    DownLoad:  Full-Size Img  PowerPoint
    Return
    Return