TY - JOUR
T1 - Regorafenib: a promising treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma
AU - Cerrito, Lucia
AU - Ponziani, Francesca Romana
AU - Garcovich, Matteo
AU - Tortora, Annalisa
AU - Annicchiarico, Brigida Eleonora
AU - Pompili, Maurizio
AU - Siciliano, Massimo
AU - Gasbarrini, Antonio
PY - 2018
Y1 - 2018
N2 - Introduction: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most frequent malignant tumors with 854,000 new cases per year and represents the second most frequent cause of cancer-death. Despite surveillance, the number of patients that are diagnosed at a stage in which they are eligible for curative treatments ranges from 30% to 60%. Advanced HCC (BCLC-C) is characterized by a median survival of 6 months. Sorafenib, the first systemic drug proven to be effective in prolonging survival of unresectable HCC, was approved by the FDA in 2007 but no second-line treatment was available for a decade for patients progressing on sorafenib. Finally, in 2016, the RESORCE trial demonstrated regorafenib as an effective second-line treatment. Areas covered: In this manuscript, the authors review the principal preclinical and clinical trials on regorafenib used in the treatment of unresectable HCC patients progressing on sorafenib and highlight both the advantages and the limitations of this drug. Expert opinion: Regorafenib is the only second-line treatment available for patients progressing on sorafenib. Despite its promising clinical application, many doubts still remain, necessitating further investigation to explore the tolerability of this drug in Child-Pugh B and sorafenib-intolerant patients, while its scarce cost-effectiveness must also be improved.
AB - Introduction: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most frequent malignant tumors with 854,000 new cases per year and represents the second most frequent cause of cancer-death. Despite surveillance, the number of patients that are diagnosed at a stage in which they are eligible for curative treatments ranges from 30% to 60%. Advanced HCC (BCLC-C) is characterized by a median survival of 6 months. Sorafenib, the first systemic drug proven to be effective in prolonging survival of unresectable HCC, was approved by the FDA in 2007 but no second-line treatment was available for a decade for patients progressing on sorafenib. Finally, in 2016, the RESORCE trial demonstrated regorafenib as an effective second-line treatment. Areas covered: In this manuscript, the authors review the principal preclinical and clinical trials on regorafenib used in the treatment of unresectable HCC patients progressing on sorafenib and highlight both the advantages and the limitations of this drug. Expert opinion: Regorafenib is the only second-line treatment available for patients progressing on sorafenib. Despite its promising clinical application, many doubts still remain, necessitating further investigation to explore the tolerability of this drug in Child-Pugh B and sorafenib-intolerant patients, while its scarce cost-effectiveness must also be improved.
KW - Hepatocellular carcinoma
KW - Pharmacology
KW - Pharmacology (medical)
KW - regorafenib
KW - second-line therapy
KW - sorafenib
KW - tyrosine kinase inhibitor
KW - Hepatocellular carcinoma
KW - Pharmacology
KW - Pharmacology (medical)
KW - regorafenib
KW - second-line therapy
KW - sorafenib
KW - tyrosine kinase inhibitor
UR - http://hdl.handle.net/10807/129170
UR - http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ieop20
U2 - 10.1080/14656566.2018.1534956
DO - 10.1080/14656566.2018.1534956
M3 - Article
SN - 1465-6566
VL - 19
SP - 1941
EP - 1948
JO - Expert Opinion on Pharmacotherapy
JF - Expert Opinion on Pharmacotherapy
ER -