J Korean Med Assoc.  2013 Nov;56(11):993-1000. 10.5124/jkma.2013.56.11.993.

Recent advances in systemic chemotherapy of hepatocellular carcinoma

• Kim BH
• Park JW

• KMID: 2193474
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5124/jkma.2013.56.11.993

Abstract

Sorafenib, as the first approved molecularly targeted agent for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), has changed the treatment paradigm for patients with advanced HCC. Although a significant survival advantage has been achieved with sorafenib, the prolongation of survival is modest, even in the cases of Child-Pugh class A. Because of primary resistance and secondary resistance, the anti-tumor effects of sorafenib are limited in a portion of HCC patients. To overcome these limitations of sorafenib, various molecularly targeted therapies have been studied alone or in combination with each other, and also adjuvant to other modalities. The role of sorafenib as an adjuvant or neo-adjuvant therapy needs to be evaluated before and after surgery and locoregional therapies. Because patients with HCC are a highly heterogeneous population in terms of molecular pathogenesis and in terms of the natural course of their disease, development of biomarkers of a response before or during sorafenib treatment and development of other molecularly targeted therapies is imperative for selecting prospective good responders. New agents under development target and block VEGF, VEGFR, PDGFR, FGF, FGFR, EGFR, PI3K/Akt/mTOR, IGFR, MEK, c-MET, glypican-3, JAK2, PD1, CTLA-4, etc. The advent of targeted systemic therapies for advanced HCC may have important implications for the future management of patients with advanced HCC, including a need for improved assessment of disease progression, reliable biomarkers for patient selection, and the use of a multidisciplinary approach.

Keyword

Hepatocellular carcinoma; Drug therapy; Sorafenib

MeSH Terms

Biomarkers
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular*
Disease Progression
Drug Therapy*
General Surgery
Glypicans
Humans
Niacinamide
Patient Selection
Phenylurea Compounds
Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A
Glypicans
Niacinamide
Phenylurea Compounds
Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A

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