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Current discovery strategies for hepatocellular carcinoma therapeutics
Qiuzi Dai, Cunlong Zhang, Zigao Yuan, Qinsheng Sun & Yuyang Jiang
Pages 243-258 | Received 29 Jul 2019, Accepted 20 Nov 2019, Published online: 06 Dec 2019
Download citation https://doi.org/10.1080/17460441.2020.1696769 CrossMark Logo CrossMark
ABSTRACT
Introduction: The global incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is not expected to decline significantly over the next 30 years. And although the latest gene sequencing studies have established its genetic map, the potentially targetable drivers of HCC are, so far, difficult to identify. To date, only seven drugs have been approved by the FDA for unresectable HCC treatment; thus, effective therapeutic breakthroughs are still needed urgently.
Areas covered: In this review, the authors discuss both genetic and epigenetic alterations in HCC and introduce the current progress with some of the representative molecular targeting inhibitors, listing some of the approved drugs for the targets of HCC. The structure–activity relationship of molecules (e.g. thalidomide, bortezomil) used for HCC is also discussed.
Expert opinion: Effective therapeutic targets and effective drugs for HCC treatment are an urgent unmet need. Better understanding and characterization of genetic and epigenetic alterations, which are important to hepatocarcinogenesis, may help to understand the molecular pathogenesis of HCC, as well as provide novel therapeutic lead compounds for HCC treatment.
KEYWORDS: Epigenetic, genetic, hepatocellular carcinoma, histone modification, receptor-tyrosine-kinase inhibitors, DNA methyltransferases
Additional information
Funding
This manuscript was not funded
Article highlights
The global incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) will not decline significantly over the next 30 years.
Sorafenib was the first approved by FDA for the treatment of HCC. In the past 3 years, lenvatinib in the frontline, regorafenib, cabozantinib, and ramucirumab in the second line were approved by FDA. In addition, immunotherapy drugs, nivolumab, and pembrolizumab, which are monoclonal antibodies have been granted accelerated approval by FDA. By contrast, several kinase inhibitors (e.g. sunitinib, bevacizumab, and erlotinib) failed to improve survival in patients with unresectable HCC.
Proof-of-concept and biomarker-based trials of molecularly targeted agents should be focus on signaling pathways of genetic and epigenetic alterations in HCC.
Based on the urgent needs on clinical, the future research direction of liver cancer treatment is not only focused on the new drugs research, but also the multidisciplinary comprehensive treatment mode. Combined therapy including chemotherapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy would maximize the benefit of patients with HCC.
All effective drugs in phase III trials of HCC were multi-kinase inhibitors with no known predictive biomarkers and the therapeutic effect of immune-checkpoint inhibitors also have no diagnostic tools. So, it is difficult to make sure the driving gene of HCC.
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