title: Sorafenib for Hepatocellular Carcinoma: From Randomized Controlled Trials to Clinical Practice.
abstract: Hepatocellular carcinoma is a challenging malignancy of global importance. It is the sixth most common solid malignancy and the third leading cause of cancer-related death, worldwide. Curative treatments at early stages include liver transplantation, resection and percutaneous ablation, while transarterial chemoembolization can improve survival in patients with intermediate tumor stage. Patients with mild, related symptoms and/or macrovascular invasion or extrahepatic spread are classified under the advanced stage. The standard of care in this group is sorafenib, an inhibitor of Raf kinase and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor, whose effectiveness has been proven by 2 recent randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The aim of this brief review is to highlight the main concerns and pitfalls and to analyze the recent data of literature regarding the efficacy and the management of sorafenib therapy from RCTs to real practice.
authors.affiliation: Section of Gastroenterology, DIBIMIS, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy.
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cabibbo
authors.forename: Salvatore
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Petta
authors.forename: Marcello
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maida
authors.forename: Calogero
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cammà
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000628:therapy; D016461:Chemoembolization, Therapeutic; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000628:therapy; D009536:Niacinamide / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D010671:Phenylurea Compounds / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D000077157:Sorafenib
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D010671:Phenylurea Compounds; D009536:Niacinamide; D000077157:Sorafenib