title: Potentiality and boundaries of use of sorafenib in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma: awaiting the results of ongoing clinical trials.
abstract: No systemic therapy had been proven effective in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) until 2007, when a large randomized trial with sorafenib demonstrated a clinically relevant prolongation of survival. Currently, sorafenib represents standard treatment for patients with advanced HCC and well-preserved liver function, whilst the evidence about its effectiveness in patients with more severe liver impairment is less robust. A randomized trial to demonstrate the efficacy of sorafenib in Child-Pugh B patients with advanced HCC is currently ongoing. In the meantime, several trials are testing the role of sorafenib in early HCC (as adjuvant treatment after potentially curative loco-regional therapies) and in intermediate stage (exploring different modalities of integration of sorafenib with trans-arterial chemo-embolization). The results of all these trials will better define the potentiality and the boundaries of use of sorafenib in HCC patients.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Trials Unit, National Cancer Institute-"G. Pascale" Foundation, via Mariano Semmola, Napoli 80131, Italy. fr.perrone@agora.it.
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Di Maio
authors.forename: Gennaro
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Daniele
authors.forename: Maria Carmela
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Piccirillo
authors.forename: Pasqualina
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Giordano
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Signoriello
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Daniele
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Perrone