title: Targeted therapy of hepatocellular cancer.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Hepatocellular cancer (HCC) is the fifth most common malignancy worldwide and third leading cause of cancer death. HCC is highly resistant to conventional systemic therapies, and prognosis for advanced HCC patients remains poor. However, identification of signaling pathways responsible for HCC growth and progression such as RAS/RAF/MEK/ERK or PI3K/AKT/mTOR has determined crucial molecular targets and led to development of novel promising targeted therapies.
  
  
  METHODS
  This article presents molecular mechanisms responsible for development and progression of HCC and strategies aimed to block important molecules involved in signal transduction. It also reviews the clinical studies evaluating efficacy and safety of novel targeted approaches for treatment of this malignancy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Inhibition of molecular targets (ligands, membrane receptors and receptor-associated kinases) represents a promising strategy for treatment of HCC; in the case of sorafenib, this has already been demonstrated to significantly improve survival of advanced HCC patients. This article reviews novel therapeutic approaches that are based on combinations of different targeted agents with or without classic cytotoxic drugs.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Despite significant progress, advanced HCC remains an incurable disease, and the overall efficacy of recently approved targeted therapy (sorafenib) remains moderate. It is to be hoped that several ongoing clinical trials evaluating novel targeted approaches for treatment of HCC will lead to further improvement in the management of advanced disease.
authors.affiliation: University of Medical Sciences, Department of Chemotherapy, Greater Poland Cancer Center, ul. Garbary 15, Poznan 61-866, Poland. pwysocki@plusnet.pl
authors.forename: Piotr Jan
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Wysocki
mesh_terms: D020533:Angiogenesis Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism; D009389:Neovascularization, Pathologic / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism; D020794:Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects*; D058570:TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases
chemical_list: D020533:Angiogenesis Inhibitors; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; C546842:MTOR protein, human; D020794:Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D058570:TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases