Topic: Advancing Multimodal Approaches in Liver Cancer: From Tumor Heterogeneity to Precision Therapies

Liver cancer remains one of the most prevalent cancers globally, marked by challenges such as early detection difficulties, high recurrence and metastasis rates, and poor overall survival. These complexities underscore the need for innovative precision therapies. In recent years, liver cancer heterogeneity has emerged as a crucial factor in shaping therapeutic responses and influencing treatment strategies. This heterogeneity is reflected not only in molecular features, genetic mutations, and phenotypic diversity but also in the dynamic alterations within the tumor microenvironment, including immune cell states, immune evasion, and angiogenesis. These factors profoundly impact tumor progression, metastasis, and responses to treatment.

Understanding liver cancer's heterogeneity is central to advancing multimodal treatment strategies. Different subtypes of liver cancer exhibit distinct responses to therapies, including targeted treatments, immunotherapies, and localized interventions. This special issue seeks to explore the impact of liver cancer heterogeneity on precision therapy, consolidating the latest findings in multimodal treatment approaches. By elucidating the molecular mechanisms driving liver cancer heterogeneity and their influence on therapy outcomes, this issue aims to propose more effective strategies for personalized liver cancer treatment and foster the evolution of precision medicine in this critical area.

Topics of interest include:

1. Molecular and Cellular Heterogeneity of Liver Cancer;

2. Tumor microenvironment dynamics in liver cancer;

3. Status and prospects of targeted therapy for liver cancer;

4. Progress and limitations of immunotherapy in liver cancer treatment;

5. Liquid biopsy in liver cancer diagnosis and monitoring;

6. The role of tumor-associated fibroblasts and macrophages in liver cancer;

7. Metabolic reprogramming in liver cancer;

8. Epigenetic regulation and gene expression in liver cancer progression;

9. Mechanisms of liver cancer heterogeneity and metastasis;

10. Relationship between drug resistance and liver cancer heterogeneity;

11. Discovery and clinical applications of novel liver cancer biomarkers;

12. Importance of multidisciplinary collaboration in liver cancer treatment;

13. Clinical application and challenges in precision medicine for liver cancer.