New therapies for hepatocellular carcinoma
Open Access
- 26 June 2006
- journal article
- review article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in Oncogene
- Vol. 25 (27), 3866-3884
- https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.onc.1209550
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), one of the most common cancers worldwide, is often diagnosed at an advanced stage when most potentially curative therapies such as resection, transplantation or percutaneous and transarterial interventions are of limited efficacy. The fact that HCC is resistant to conventional chemotherapy, and is rarely amenable to radiotherapy, leaves this disease with no effective therapeutic options and a very poor prognosis. Therefore, the development of more effective therapeutic tools and strategies is much needed. HCCs are phenotypically and genetically heterogeneous tumors that commonly emerge on a background of chronic liver disease. However, in spite of this heterogeneity recent insights into the biology of HCC suggest that certain signaling pathways and molecular alterations are likely to play esscntial roles in HCC development by promoting cell growth and survival. The identification of such mechanisms may open new avenues for the prevention and treatment of HCC through the development of targeted therapies. In this review we will describe the new potential therapeutic targets and clinical developments that have emerged from progress in the knowledge of HCC biology, In addition, recent advances in gene therapy and combined cell and gene therapy, together with new radiotherapy techniques and immunotherapy in patients with HCC will be discussed.Keywords
This publication has 210 references indexed in Scilit:
- Tumour stem cells and drug resistanceNature Reviews Cancer, 2005
- Gefitinib, an EGFR inhibitor, prevents hepatocellular carcinoma development in the rat liver with cirrhosisHepatology, 2005
- Integrin-linked kinase: a cancer therapeutic target unique among its ILKNature Reviews Cancer, 2005
- Intrinsic tumour suppressionNature, 2004
- MYC inactivation uncovers pluripotent differentiation and tumour dormancy in hepatocellular cancerNature, 2004
- Cytokines in cancer pathogenesis and cancer therapyNature Reviews Cancer, 2004
- Transforming growth factor-β1 stimulated protein kinase B serine-473 and focal adhesion kinase tyrosine phosphorylation dependent on cell adhesion in human hepatocellular carcinoma SMMC-7721 cellsBiochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, 2003
- The EGFR family and its ligands in human cancerEuropean Journal Of Cancer, 2001
- Prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma in relation to treatment: A multivariate analysis of 178 patients from a single European institutionSurgery, 1998
- Integrins: Versatility, modulation, and signaling in cell adhesionCell, 1992