Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41810102›Full record

ReviewJournal of clinical and translational hepatology2026

Tumor Vaccines in Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Advances, Challenges, and the Path Toward Precision Immunotherapy.

Bin Niu, Jun Xu, Liaoyun Zhang

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Journal of clinical and translational hepatology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Bin NiuDepartment of Infectious Diseases, The First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, Shanxi, China.
Jun XuDepartment of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Liver Transplantation Center, The First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, Shanxi, China.
Liaoyun ZhangDepartment of Infectious Diseases, The First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, Shanxi, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7666-7368

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains one of the leading causes of cancer-related mortality worldwide, with curative options still limited for patients with advanced disease. As an emerging modality of cancer immunotherapy, tumor vaccines represent a promising approach that activates the host immune system to recognize and eliminate malignant cells. Multiple vaccine platforms, including peptide vaccines, dendritic-cell vaccines, nucleic-acid vaccines, and viral-vector vaccines, have been explored for HCC. Among these, peptide- and dendritic-cell-based vaccines are supported by the most extensive clinical data, demonstrating favorable safety and immunogenicity profiles. The advent of personalized therapeutic cancer vaccines based on tumor-specific antigens has further refined the precision of vaccine design. Nevertheless, several major challenges persist, including immune suppression within the tumor immune microenvironment, marked tumor heterogeneity, immune-escape mechanisms, and limited vaccine immunogenicity, all of which hinder clinical efficacy. In addition, issues related to standardization, large-scale production, and regulatory oversight remain unresolved. Recent advances in sequencing technology, nanotechnology, and artificial intelligence have opened new avenues for optimizing vaccine platforms and delivery strategies. Combination therapies that integrate cancer vaccines with immune checkpoint inhibitors, chemotherapy, or locoregional treatments are also being actively investigated to improve patient outcomes. In summary, although vaccine-based immunotherapy for HCC is still at an early stage, its integration with personalized medicine and multimodal therapeutic strategies holds great potential for improving the long-term prognosis of patients with HCC. Therefore, this review aims to systematically summarize current advances in tumor vaccine-based immunotherapy for hepatocellular carcinoma, with a particular focus on vaccine platforms, target antigens, clinical trial outcomes, and future challenges for clinical translation.

Indexed as

Clinical trialHepatocellular carcinomaPersonalized therapeutic cancer vaccineTreatmentTumor immune microenvironmentTumor vaccine

Identifiers

PMID41810102
PMCPMC12967886

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.