Systemic therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma: beyond sorafenib

Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains the second leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide and the fifth leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States. In 2007, sorafenib became the first Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved first line systemic treatment for HCC, however, it confers only modest benefit in median overall survival (mOS) and comes with significant side effects. This review article will explore systemic treatments for incurable HCC beyond sorafenib. It will pay particular emphasis to various kinase inhibitors, immunotherapies, and new data on combination therapies.

Keywords: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC); clinical trials; immunotherapy; sorafenib; systemic therapy; tyrosine kinase inhibitors.