Aggressive features and immune landscape of macrotrabecular hepatocellular carcinoma

Abstract

Highlights • MT-HCC exhibits more aggressive clinical and pathological features than CV-HCC.• Higher AFP, larger tumor size and more vascular invasion are observed in MT-HCC.• Distinct immune cell distribution patterns are identified in different tumor regions.• CD20+ B cells in the tumor margin correlate with favorable prognosis.• FOXP3+ regulatory T cells and CTLA-4+ lymphocytes are linked to poorer outcomes.