Hepatocellular Cancer: New Kids on the Block

Abstract

Background: With over 600,000 newly diagnosed hepatocellular cancer (HCC) patients worldwide every year and ongoing clinical research, it is surprising that many of the new molecular entities have not yet resulted in significant prolongation of progression-free or overall survival. Nevertheless, there are a number of promising agents currently under investigation. Given the unique tumor biology and heterogeneous clinical manifestations of HCC, the application of molecular and cellular markers could also benefit patient selection, disease prognosis and trial design.

Summary: This paper provides an overview of the current therapeutic strategies for HCC in the curative and palliative settings. Furthermore, we introduce some of the promising small molecules and antibodies that may find their way into clinical practice, with a focus on substances that are currently in phase III testing. Finally, we summarize the role of promising biomarkers, such as circulating tumor or cancer stem cells.

Key message: Despite the rising prevalence of HCC and active clinical research, few therapeutic options besides sorafenib have been established. This review discusses the new therapeutic agents in the pipeline.

Practical implications: Although many promising preclinical studies have resulted in phase I-II trials on HCC, so far only the tyrosine and Raf kinase inhibitor sorafenib has made its way into the hands of physicians. This multikinase inhibitor is the only approved option for systemic treatment of advanced HCC. Currently, the development of promising approaches for disease management is guided by biomarkers such as molecular markers or cellular characteristics. The use of biomarkers may facilitate early diagnosis in high-risk groups and therefore enhance outcomes by detecting patients whose disease is still curable.

Keywords: Biomarkers; Circulating tumor cells; Hepatocellular cancer; New molecular substances; Systemic and local ablative therapy.