Abstract:

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains a major health threat worldwide. The disease burden in China is very heavy that the morbidity and mortality of HCC patients in our country account for more than half of the total worldwide. Transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) is the first-line treatment recommended for HCC patients who are not suitable for surgical resection or have localized lesions. Its effectiveness has been widely confirmed though accompanied by varying degrees of side effects, and TACE is considered to have only a palliative effect. Dendritic cells (DCs) are powerful antigen-presenting cells, and play an important role in mediating innate and adaptive immune responses. Considering that a large number of tumor antigens are released after TACE, TACE combined with immunotherapy may improve the therapeutic effect on patients with HCC. This article briefly discusses the principle, approach, and potential efficacy of TACE plus DC vaccine and conditioning cyclophosphamide in treating patients with HCC based on a clinical trial initiated by the authors.

Key words:

Hepatocellular carcinoma, Dendritic cell vaccine, Transarterial chemoembolization, Immunotherapy, Progress

摘要：

肝细胞癌（hepatocellular carcinoma，HCC）仍然是全世界范围内主要的健康威胁，而我国HCC发病率和病死率占全球总数一半以上，负担非常沉重。经动脉化疗栓塞（transarterial chemoembolization，TACE）是不适合手术切除或具有局限性病灶HCC患者的一线治疗手段，其临床有效性已得到证实，但因为不同程度的副作用，被认为只具有姑息性作用。树突状细胞（dendritic cell，DC）是目前发现的功能强大的抗原提呈细胞，在介导天然免疫与适应性免疫反应中发挥着重要作用。考虑到TACE后大量肿瘤抗原被释放，TACE联合免疫治疗可能会提升对HCC患者的治疗作用。本文结合笔者发起的临床研究就DC疫苗叠加低剂量环磷酰胺联合TACE治疗HCC患者的原理、方法及潜在功效进行简要综述。

关键词:

肝细胞癌, 树突状细胞疫苗, 经动脉化疗栓塞, 免疫治疗, 进展