1. The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Lishui 323000, China
2. School of Life Science and Engineering, Lanzhou University of Technology, Lanzhou 730050, China
Transarterial embolization and its derivative techniques, including transarterial chemoembolization and transarterial radioembolization, have become established locoregional therapies for hypervascular solid tumors, particularly in intermediate and advanced-stage hepatocellular carcinoma. However, their clinical efficacy remains largely palliative, as therapeutic outcomes are constrained by adaptive tumor responses induced by vascular occlusion,including hypoxia-driven angiogenesis, metabolic reprogramming and the establishment of an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME), ultimately leading to tumor recurrence and progression. Emerging evidence indicates that embolization is not merely a mechanical vascular occlusion process, but a dynamic biological event accompanied by profound remodeling of the TME. Conventional embolic agents and drugeluting microspheres primarily rely on passive vascular occlusion and lack the capability to actively regulate post-embolization TME evolution. Consequently, interventional embolic materials are shifting from single-functional vascular blockage toward TMEoriented multifunctional design, enabling coordinated regulations of hypoxia,metabolic and immune components through integrated structural and functional engineering. This review summarizes recent advances in embolic materials from the perspectives of spatial regulation, temporally programmed release, stimulus-responsive systems and externally triggered energy-driven platforms. Furthermore, it discusses novel embolic materials-roles in immune reprogramming and different clinical scenarios, aiming to provide a reference for the optimization and translational development of interventional embolization strategies.