Chemotherapies and targeted therapies in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma: from laboratory to clinic

Chronic liver diseases alone or in conjunction with other risk factors result in increased liver damage leading to inflammation and fibrosis of the liver and rising rates of liver cirrhosis, hepatic decompensation and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This review will address the determinants of liver injury at the initiation of the tumor and the risk factors for rapid disease progression. Regardless of the etiology, the unifying feature of these tumors are their propensity to arise upon a background of inflammation and fibrosis. Liver disease is often associated with enhanced hepatocyte apoptosis, which is the case in viral and autoimmune hepatitis, cholestatic diseases, and metabolic disorders. Disruption of apoptosis is responsible for HCC. The mechanisms by which apoptosis occurs in the liver might provide insights into HCC and suggest possible treatments. We aim to better understand the factors that distinguish a relatively long course of HCC from one with rapid progression. We will accomplish this task with three integrated ideas: 1 - the role of epidemiology in establishing the risk factors of co-morbidity with alcohol and hepatitis viruses; 2 - the role of apoptosis and anti-apoptotic signals in the progression of HCC; and 3 - the role of new advancements that have emerged in the field of molecular-directed chemotherapeutics in HCC in recent years. This review will also aim to describe the molecular targeted therapies of non-resectable HCC and the ways of effective combination in this otherwise chemo-resistant tumor.