{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,16]],"date-time":"2026-09-16T11:42:19Z","timestamp":1789558939425,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":104,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,22]],"date-time":"2026-04-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1776816000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Immunol."],"abstract":"<jats:p>Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most prevalent and lethal malignancies worldwide, with chronic liver inflammation as the core driver of its initiation and progression. Regardless of etiology, HCC development follows the classic progressive pathway of \u201cchronic inflammation - liver fibrosis - cirrhosis - liver cancer\u201d. In this review, we propose an innovative \u201cSingle Wick, Dual Interwoven Strands\u201d regulatory framework to systematically delineate the role of inflammation in the entire continuum of HCC progression. We define chronic liver inflammation as the \u201cWick\u201d \u2013 the core driver that initiates and sustains the pro-tumor cascade, while inflammatory cells and inflammatory cytokines act as the two interwoven functional \u201cStrands\u201d that execute the pro-carcinogenic effects of inflammation via a tightly regulated interactive network. Their synergistic crosstalk drives five core terminal biological outcomes of HCC progression: invasion and metastasis, angiogenesis, immune escape, metabolic reprogramming, and therapeutic resistance. Based on this framework, we dissect the core mechanisms of inflammation-driven HCC, summarize the latest advances in inflammation-targeted diagnostic, therapeutic and preventive strategies, and highlight the clinical translational prospects of this framework. This work provides systematic theoretical guidance for early prevention, precise treatment and prognosis improvement of HCC.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fimmu.2026.1822039","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,22]],"date-time":"2026-04-22T05:51:44Z","timestamp":1776837104000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Inflammation in hepatocellular carcinoma progression: a \u201cSingle Wick, dual interwoven strands\u201d regulatory framework"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Chao","family":"Wu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of General Surgery, Qingdao Central Hospital, University of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences","place":["Qingdao, Shandong, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jing","family":"Dong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical Trial Research Center, Qingdao Central 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