Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Academician (Expert) Workstation, Sichuan Digestive System Disease Clinical Medical Research Center,
Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong 637000, P. R. China.
Lin Deng
Department of Clinical Medicine,
North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong 637000, P. R. China.
Jing Zhang
Department of Gastroenterology,
Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong 637000, P. R. China.
Tao Jiang
Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Academician (Expert) Workstation, Sichuan Digestive System Disease Clinical Medical Research Center,
Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong 637000, P. R. China.
Honglin Xiang
Department of Orthopaedics, Shanghai Key Laboratory for Prevention and Treatment of Bone and Joint Diseases, Shanghai Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedics, Ruijin Hospital,
Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, P. R. China.
Yanyang Chen
Department of Orthopaedics, Shanghai Key Laboratory for Prevention and Treatment of Bone and Joint Diseases, Shanghai Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedics, Ruijin Hospital,
Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, P. R. China.
Huzhe Liu
Department of Orthopaedics, Shanghai Key Laboratory for Prevention and Treatment of Bone and Joint Diseases, Shanghai Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedics, Ruijin Hospital,
Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, P. R. China.
Zhengwei Cai
Department of Orthopaedics, Shanghai Key Laboratory for Prevention and Treatment of Bone and Joint Diseases, Shanghai Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedics, Ruijin Hospital,
Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, P. R. China.
Wenguo Cui
Department of Orthopaedics, Shanghai Key Laboratory for Prevention and Treatment of Bone and Joint Diseases, Shanghai Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedics, Ruijin Hospital,
Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, P. R. China.
Yongfu Xiong
Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Academician (Expert) Workstation, Sichuan Digestive System Disease Clinical Medical Research Center,
Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong 637000, P. R. China.
Given the high malignancy of liver cancer and the liver’s unique role in immune and metabolic regulation, current treatments have limited efficacy, resulting in a poor prognosis. Hydrogels, soft 3-dimensional network materials comprising numerous hydrophilic monomers, have considerable potential as intelligent drug delivery systems for liver cancer treatment. The advantages of hydrogels include their versatile delivery modalities, precision targeting, intelligent stimulus response, controlled drug release, high drug loading capacity, excellent slow-release capabilities, and substantial potential as carriers of bioactive molecules. This review presents an in-depth examination of hydrogel-assisted advanced therapies for hepatocellular carcinoma, encompassing small-molecule drug therapy, immunotherapy, gene therapy, and the utilization of other biologics. Furthermore, it examines the integration of hydrogels with conventional liver cancer therapies, including radiation, interventional therapy, and ultrasound. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the numerous advantages of hydrogels and their potential to enhance therapeutic efficacy, targeting, and drug delivery safety. In conclusion, this review addresses the clinical implementation of hydrogels in liver cancer therapy and future challenges and design principles for hydrogel-based systems, and proposes novel research directions and strategies.
