ABSTRACT
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common liver cancer, which is also the second leading cause of death in cancer. With the development of molecular biology and technology, gene therapy has become a new potential method to treat the cancer. As a viral gene-delivery system, the adeno-associated virus (AAV) is the most promising delivery vehicle for its high efficiency of infection, low pathogenicity and low immunogenicity. However, AAV has a wide range of host that may lead to side effects. Targeted gene therapy can achieve site-specific and high efficient gene expression, which avoids toxicity of systemic and non-targeted gene expression to improve the safety and efficacy of gene therapy. In this review, we provide an overview of the pathogenesis of HCC and the characteristics of AAV. Moreover, we discuss the targeting strategies currently employed in the gene therapy for HCC with a focus on targeting the transductional, transcriptional and posttranscriptional levels. New strategies are proposed for improving the quality of life and survival rate of patients with HCC.