Semin Liver Dis 2005; 25(2): 212-225
DOI: 10.1055/s-2005-871200
Copyright © 2005 by Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc., 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Molecular Pathways and New Therapeutic Targets

Lewis R. Roberts1 , 3 , Gregory J. Gores2 , 3
  • 1Assistant Professor of Medicine and Consultant, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, Minnesota
  • 2Reuben R. Eisenberg Professor of Medicine and Consultant, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, Minnesota
  • 3Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, Minnesota
Further Information

Publication History

Publication Date:
25 May 2005 (online)

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ABSTRACT

Hepatocellular carcinoma is often diagnosed at an advanced stage, when it is not amenable to curative therapies. There is no effective chemotherapy. Advances in cancer biology suggest that a limited number of pathways are responsible for initiating and maintaining dysregulated cell proliferation, which is the major cellular alteration responsible for the cancer phenotype. New treatments in development target several of these critical pathways, including agents targeting the receptor tyrosine kinase pathways, the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, the ubiquitin/proteasome degradation pathway, the epigenetic DNA methylation and histone deacetylation pathways, the PI3 kinase/AKT/mTOR pathway, angiogenic pathways, and telomerase. Several of these approaches hold significant promise for improving the long-term outcome of patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. Because of the high prevalence of liver cirrhosis in hepatocellular carcinoma patients, these approaches must be coupled with new strategies for halting or reversing the progression of chronic liver disease.