Molecular targeting for treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma.
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a major global health problem, which has a grave morbidity and mortality. Over the past few decades, no effective systemic therapeutic modalities have been established for patients with the unresectable HCC in advanced stage. Sorafenib is a small molecule that blocks cancer cell proliferation by targeting the intracellular signaling pathway at the level of Raf-1 and B-Raf serine-threonine kinases, and exerts an anti-angiogenic effect by targeting the vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-1, 2 and 3, and platelet-derived growth factor receptor-beta tyrosine kinases. Recently, two clinical successful applications, SHARP and Asia-Pacific trial, of multikinase inhibitor sorafenib represent a significant advance in the treatment of advanced HCC patients without a curative chance. However, because the results of clinical trials show diverse responses in a subset of HCC patients, a molecular classification of HCC through the excavation of specific biomarkers related to its biological behavior is necessary for sorting HCC patients to each group with a biological homogeneity, ultimately leading to the most suitable individualization of molecular targeted therapy in HCC.
Song
Il Han
IH
Department of Internal Medicine, Dankook University College of Medicine, Cheonan, Korea. ihsong21@dankook.ac.kr
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001557:Benzenesulfonates / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000473:pathology / Q000556:secondary / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000098:blood supply / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D009389:Neovascularization, Pathologic; D009536:Niacinamide / Q000031:analogs & derivatives; D010671:Phenylurea Compounds; D048493:Proto-Oncogene Proteins B-raf / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism; D019908:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-raf / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism; D011725:Pyridines / Q000627:therapeutic use; D017479:Receptors, Platelet-Derived Growth Factor / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism; D040262:Receptors, Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction; D000077157:Sorafenib
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D001557:Benzenesulfonates; D010671:Phenylurea Compounds; D011725:Pyridines; D009536:Niacinamide; D000077157:Sorafenib; D017479:Receptors, Platelet-Derived Growth Factor; D040262:Receptors, Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor; D048493:Proto-Oncogene Proteins B-raf; D019908:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-raf