Cancer-associated fibroblasts in hepatocellular carcinoma: origins, heterogeneity, and therapeutic implications
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a globally prevalent malignancy. This disease often progresses rapidly, resulting in many patients being diagnosed at a late stage, making early detection and intervention a major clinical challenge. Postoperative recurrence and metastasis rates remain significantly...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-07-01
|
| Series: | Frontiers in Immunology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2025.1620075/full |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850102781197680640 |
|---|---|
| author | Xin Shi Weixiong Zhu Jianpeng Zhang Chuanlei Fan Jing Zhang |
| author_facet | Xin Shi Weixiong Zhu Jianpeng Zhang Chuanlei Fan Jing Zhang |
| author_sort | Xin Shi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a globally prevalent malignancy. This disease often progresses rapidly, resulting in many patients being diagnosed at a late stage, making early detection and intervention a major clinical challenge. Postoperative recurrence and metastasis rates remain significantly high, and no effective prevention strategies are currently available. Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are essential components in the reorganization of the tumor microenvironment (TME), as they can modulate cancer cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and chemoresistance through diverse mechanisms or signaling pathways, including the release of cytokines, remodeling of the extracellular matrix, and the evasion of the immune response. This review offers a detailed overview of the cellular origins, subtype diversity, and functional differences among CAFs. In addition, it depicts the expression profiles of key markers in various CAF subtypes and clarifies essential signaling pathways and mechanisms of CAFs. Additionally, we discuss current and future therapeutic strategies targeting CAFs in the context of HCC. This review provides critical insights into future studies on novel therapeutic approaches for CAFs. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-993c8853db7f4c37a41d78b7db89ccdb |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1664-3224 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Immunology |
| spelling | doaj-art-993c8853db7f4c37a41d78b7db89ccdb2025-08-20T02:39:41ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Immunology1664-32242025-07-011610.3389/fimmu.2025.16200751620075Cancer-associated fibroblasts in hepatocellular carcinoma: origins, heterogeneity, and therapeutic implicationsXin Shi0Weixiong Zhu1Jianpeng Zhang2Chuanlei Fan3Jing Zhang4Department of Oncology, Taizhou Second People’s Hospital Affiliated to Yangzhou University, Taizhou, Jiangsu, ChinaThe Second Hospital of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, ChinaDepartment of Urology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, ChinaDepartment of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Jiangxi Province Hospital of Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine, Nanchang, Jiangxi, ChinaDepartment of Oncology, Taizhou Second People’s Hospital Affiliated to Yangzhou University, Taizhou, Jiangsu, ChinaHepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a globally prevalent malignancy. This disease often progresses rapidly, resulting in many patients being diagnosed at a late stage, making early detection and intervention a major clinical challenge. Postoperative recurrence and metastasis rates remain significantly high, and no effective prevention strategies are currently available. Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are essential components in the reorganization of the tumor microenvironment (TME), as they can modulate cancer cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and chemoresistance through diverse mechanisms or signaling pathways, including the release of cytokines, remodeling of the extracellular matrix, and the evasion of the immune response. This review offers a detailed overview of the cellular origins, subtype diversity, and functional differences among CAFs. In addition, it depicts the expression profiles of key markers in various CAF subtypes and clarifies essential signaling pathways and mechanisms of CAFs. Additionally, we discuss current and future therapeutic strategies targeting CAFs in the context of HCC. This review provides critical insights into future studies on novel therapeutic approaches for CAFs.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2025.1620075/fullhepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs)tumor microenvironment (TME)therapeutic resistanceimmune evasion |
| spellingShingle | Xin Shi Weixiong Zhu Jianpeng Zhang Chuanlei Fan Jing Zhang Cancer-associated fibroblasts in hepatocellular carcinoma: origins, heterogeneity, and therapeutic implications Frontiers in Immunology hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) tumor microenvironment (TME) therapeutic resistance immune evasion |
| title | Cancer-associated fibroblasts in hepatocellular carcinoma: origins, heterogeneity, and therapeutic implications |
| title_full | Cancer-associated fibroblasts in hepatocellular carcinoma: origins, heterogeneity, and therapeutic implications |
| title_fullStr | Cancer-associated fibroblasts in hepatocellular carcinoma: origins, heterogeneity, and therapeutic implications |
| title_full_unstemmed | Cancer-associated fibroblasts in hepatocellular carcinoma: origins, heterogeneity, and therapeutic implications |
| title_short | Cancer-associated fibroblasts in hepatocellular carcinoma: origins, heterogeneity, and therapeutic implications |
| title_sort | cancer associated fibroblasts in hepatocellular carcinoma origins heterogeneity and therapeutic implications |
| topic | hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) tumor microenvironment (TME) therapeutic resistance immune evasion |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2025.1620075/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT xinshi cancerassociatedfibroblastsinhepatocellularcarcinomaoriginsheterogeneityandtherapeuticimplications AT weixiongzhu cancerassociatedfibroblastsinhepatocellularcarcinomaoriginsheterogeneityandtherapeuticimplications AT jianpengzhang cancerassociatedfibroblastsinhepatocellularcarcinomaoriginsheterogeneityandtherapeuticimplications AT chuanleifan cancerassociatedfibroblastsinhepatocellularcarcinomaoriginsheterogeneityandtherapeuticimplications AT jingzhang cancerassociatedfibroblastsinhepatocellularcarcinomaoriginsheterogeneityandtherapeuticimplications |