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©The Author(s) 2019. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastrointest Oncol. Oct 15, 2019; 11(10): 788-803
Published online Oct 15, 2019. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v11.i10.788
Published online Oct 15, 2019. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v11.i10.788
Targeted agents for second-line treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma
Nicola Personeni, Tiziana Pressiani, Silvia Bozzarelli, Lorenza Rimassa, Medical Oncology and Hematology Unit, Humanitas Cancer Center, Humanitas Clinical and Research Center, IRCCS, Rozzano 20089, Milan, Italy
Nicola Personeni, Lorenza Rimassa, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Humanitas University, Pieve Emanuele 20090, Milan, Italy
Author contributions: Personeni N, Pressiani T, Bozzarelli S and Rimassa L performed data research; Personeni N, Pressiani T, Bozzarelli S and Rimassa L wrote the paper; Personeni N performed the critical revision of the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: Personeni N has received lecture fees from AbbVie and Gilead, and travel expenses from ArQule. Rimassa L has received consulting fees from Lilly, Bayer, Sirtex Medical, ArQule, Exelixis, Ipsen, Celgene, Eisai, and Roche, lecture fees from AstraZeneca, AbbVie, and Gilead, and travel expenses from ArQule and Ipsen. Pressiani T and Bozzarelli S have declared no conflict of interests. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed. No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.
Corresponding author: Lorenza Rimassa, MD, Associate Professor, Medical Oncology and Hematology Unit, Humanitas Cancer Center, Humanitas Clinical and Research Center, IRCCS, via Manzoni 56, Rozzano 20089, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Humanitas University, Pieve Emanuele 20090, Milan, Italy. lorenza.rimassa@hunimed.eu
Telephone: +39-2-82244573 Fax: +39-2-82244590
Received: April 29, 2019
Peer-review started: May 9, 2019
First decision: June 4, 2019
Revised: July 25, 2019
Accepted: August 27, 2019
Article in press: August 28, 2019
Published online: October 15, 2019
Peer-review started: May 9, 2019
First decision: June 4, 2019
Revised: July 25, 2019
Accepted: August 27, 2019
Article in press: August 28, 2019
Published online: October 15, 2019
Core Tip
Core tip: During the last decade, sorafenib, a multikinase inhibitor, has emerged as the only systemic agent available for the treatment of patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma. However, in recent years, lenvatinib, which is a different multikinase inhibitor, was shown to be non-inferior compared to sorafenib. Despite several negative phase III trials, novel drugs with similar, but not overlapping, properties have been recently shown to improve patient outcomes, thereby confirming the role of sustained anti-angiogenic inhibition in further lines of treatment. Here, we will discuss the results of the positive phase III trials of regorafenib, cabozantinib, and ramucirumab in patients failing sorafenib.