Korean J Hepatol > Volume 15(3); 2009 > Article
The Korean Journal of Hepatology 2009;15(3): 299-308.
doi: https://doi.org/10.3350/kjhep.2009.15.3.299
Molecular targeting for treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma
Il Han Song
Department of Internal Medicine, Dankook University College of Medicine, Cheonan, Korea
ABSTRACT
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a major global health problem, which has a grave morbidity and mortality. Over the past few decades, no effective systemic therapeutic modalities have been established for patients with the unresectable HCC in advanced stage. Sorafenib is a small molecule that blocks cancer cell proliferation by targeting the intracellular signaling pathway at the level of Raf-1 and B-Raf serine-threonine kinases, and exerts an anti-angiogenic effect by targeting the vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-1, 2 and 3, and platelet-derived growth factor receptor-β tyrosine kinases. Recently, two clinical successful applications, SHARP and Asia-Pacific trial, of multikinase inhibitor sorafenib represent a significant advance in the treatment of advanced HCC patients without a curative chance. However, because the results of clinical trials show diverse responses in a subset of HCC patients, a molecular classification of HCC through the excavation of specific biomarkers related to its biological behavior is necessary for sorting HCC patients to each group with a biological homogeneity, ultimately leading to the most suitable individualization of molecular targeted therapy in HCC. (Korean J Hepatol 2009,15:299-308)
KeyWords: Hepatocellular carcinoma; Molecular targeted therapy; Sorafenib; Hepatocarcinogenesis; Signaling pathway

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