Systemic Therapy for Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Targeted Therapy and Immunotherapy

ABSTRACT

Systemic therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has markedly changed since 2007, with the approval of sorafenib. Sorafenib improved the overall survival of patients with advanced HCC; however, the modest efficacy and toxicity of this therapy present unmet needs. Subsequently, a variety of molecular targeted agents have been tested as first-line or second-line therapies but have failed, and sorafenib has remained the only approved systemic agent for almost 10 years. Recently, regorafenib significantly improved overall survival and was approved for patients with HCC who have been previously treated with sorafenib. Nivolumab, a programmed death protein-1 inhibitor, was also approved as second-line therapy, based on remarkable response rates.