China News Service, December 24 (Reporter Chen Jing) Primary liver cancer ("liver cancer" for short) is one of the most common malignant tumors in the world. There are a large number of newly diagnosed liver cancer patients in China each year.
Surgery is the most important method for radical treatment of liver cancer, but the recurrence and metastasis rate remains high within 5 years after surgery.
Medical experts have been committed to exploring the relevant mechanisms of liver cancer recurrence and metastasis after surgery, hoping to develop more effective new strategies for liver cancer treatment.
Zhongshan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University disclosed on the 24th that academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Fan Jia’s team from the Liver Cancer Institute of Fudan University (Zhongshan Hospital) took the lead in revealing the characteristic immune profile and immune escape mechanism of early recurrence of liver cancer, in order to further improve the efficacy of liver cancer immunotherapy. Finding an effective new strategy for the prevention and treatment of liver cancer recurrence and metastasis provides more theoretical basis and experimental evidence.
According to reports, researchers used single-cell sequencing technology to analyze the immune microecological differences between primary and recurrent liver cancer.
The internationally well-known biological journal "Cell" published online the latest achievement "Single-cell panoramic analysis of early recurrence liver cancer micro-ecosystem", the latest result of the collaboration between Fan Jia's team and the life science research institute of related companies.
It is understood that single-cell sequencing technology provides a new tool for microscopic interpretation of cell behavior and immune mechanisms, enabling people to better understand the immune characteristics of recurring tumors, so that it is possible to better respond to tumor recurrence in terms of monitoring and medication.
Fan Jia told reporters that early tumor recurrence refers to the recurrence that occurs within two years after surgery, accounting for more than two-thirds of liver cancer recurrence after surgery, and the prognosis is poor.
The research team found that there is a difference in the distribution of immune cell groups between recurrent liver cancer and primary liver cancer.
Among the early recurrence of liver cancer tumors, there are significant differences in the number of three types of immune cells related to tumor immunity.
Yang Xinrong, chief physician of the Department of Liver Surgery at Zhongshan Hospital of Fudan University, told reporters that day that, on the surface, in recurrent liver cancer, the body's immune recognition and attack ability against tumor cells should be stronger, and the possibility of tumor cells escaping is less.
However, this is obviously inconsistent with the actual situation.
From this, the research team concluded that the tumor immune escape mechanism of recurrent liver cancer is different from that of primary liver cancer.
Researchers have found that the tumor cells in recurrent liver cancer are very cunning, can be confused, and the immune system is not easy to detect.
According to reports, related cells with immune memory should have a rapid second blow to the antigen and exert an efficient immune killing effect; however, they are always in an inactive state, have low cytotoxicity, and the number of clones is small, and they have no immune killing function at all. .
Fan Jia explained that the tumor cells of recurrent liver cancer are a very cunning team. They also come from primary tumor cells, but they are an inconspicuous minority branch that are easily ignored by the immune system.
Relevant cells with immune memory do not recognize them, so if these tumor cells are allowed to grow, recurring tumors will no longer be controlled.
Fan Jia used a vivid metaphor to explain that the dendritic cells that originally performed the tumor-killing function of education-related cells were "blackened" by the recurrent tumor cells, which caused them to be unable to be effectively activated to perform the killing function.
During the interview, the reporter learned that in primary tumors, the body originally had a mechanism to make up for the immune loopholes, but tumor cells in recurrent liver cancer developed "countermeasures", resulting in related cells not being activated and unable to perform. Immune killing function.
It is reported that this project was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, Shanghai Innovation Cluster and Guangdong Natural Science Foundation.
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