title: Molecular targeted therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma: current and future.
abstract: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most frequent tumors worldwide. The majority of HCC cases occur in patients with chronic liver disease. Despite regular surveillance to detect small HCC in these patients, HCC is often diagnosed at an advanced stage. Because HCC is highly resistant to conventional systemic therapies, the prognosis for advanced HCC patients remains poor. The introduction of sorafenib as the standard systemic therapy has unveiled a new direction for future research regarding HCC treatment. However, given the limited efficacy of the drug, a need exists to look beyond sorafenib. Many molecular targeted agents that inhibit different pathways involved in hepatocarcinogenesis are under various phases of clinical development, and novel targets are being assessed in HCC. This review aims to summarize the efforts to target molecular components of the signaling pathways that are responsible for the development and progression of HCC and to discuss perspectives on the future direction of research.
authors.affiliation: Jung Woo Shin, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Ulsan University Hospital, Ulsan 682-714, South Korea.
authors.forename: Jung Woo
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: Young-Hwa
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Chung
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D015195:Drug Design; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D058990:Molecular Targeted Therapy; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents
keywords: Hepatocellular carcinoma; Molecular agents; Sorafenib; Targeted therapy