title: Lenvatinib: a potential breakthrough in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma?
abstract: Treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has reached a plateau after the approval of sorafenib in 2007. Several molecularly targeted therapies have failed to show significant improvement in survival outcomes compared with sorafenib, due to flaws in the design of clinical trials or failure to understand and correct for the competing co-morbidity of liver dysfunction. Lenvatinib is a multitargeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor with potent antiangiogenic effects, and has recently been approved for differentiated thyroid cancer. Lenvatinib has shown highly promising response data in Phase I/II clinical trials in HCC, although with some concerns regarding its toxicity profile. The pivotal Phase III REFLECT trial comparing lenvatinib to sorafenib has been completed, and the results of this trial will determine whether lenvatinib represents a breakthrough in the current crisis affecting HCC drug development.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, King's College Hospital, Denmark Hill, London, SE5 9RS, UK.
authors.forename: Georgios
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Oikonomopoulos
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, King's College Hospital, Denmark Hill, London, SE5 9RS, UK.
authors.forename: Preetha
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Aravind
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, King's College Hospital, Denmark Hill, London, SE5 9RS, UK.|Institute of Liver Studies, King's College Hospital, Denmark Hill, London, SE5 9RS, UK.|Division of Cancer Studies, King's College London, Guy's Hospital, Great Maze Pond, London, SE1 9RT, UK.
authors.forename: Debashis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sarker
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology*; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D010671:Phenylurea Compounds / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011804:Quinolines / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D010671:Phenylurea Compounds; D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors; D011804:Quinolines; C531958:lenvatinib
keywords: clinical trials; drug therapy; hepatocellular carcinoma; lenvatinib; sorafenib