title: Novel therapeutic targets and predictive markers for hepatocellular carcinoma.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Following the approval of sorafenib as the first systemic agent for treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), there have been an increasing number of targeted treatments under testing for the cancer. However, most of the recently published drug trials in HCC failed to produce remarkable results. The researchers are actively pursuing novel therapeutic targets as well as predictive biomarker for treatment of HCC.
  
  
  METHODS
  This review discusses a number of potential novel targets for drug development of HCC. Focus is put on the underlying rationale for therapeutic development of the target and the possibility of using a predictive biomarker to select patients for drug testing.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Future direction of drug development will be discussed. Notably, a clinical trial on drug testing in HCC should be shifted from all-comers approach to selected populations based on underlying viral etiology and molecular targets. A study to evaluate predictive biomarker is crucial to the development of targeted agents for HCC. Design of clinical trials on HCC should introduce measures to encourage acquisition of tumor and plasma samples for biomarker development.
authors.affiliation: The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Cancer Institute and Prince of Wales Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Sir YK Pao Center for Cancer, Department of Clinical Oncology , Hong Kong , China +852 2632 2118 ; +852 2648 7097 ; chanlam_stephen@cuhk.edu.hk.
authors.forename: Stephen L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: Anthony W H
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: Winnie
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Yeo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic / Q000379:methods; D015195:Drug Design; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D058990:Molecular Targeted Therapy
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor
keywords: biomarker; drug; liver neoplasm; targeted therapy