The therapeutic options for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) have been so far rather inadequate.Sorafenib has shown an overall survival benefit and has become the new standard of care for advanced HCC.Nevertheless,in cl...The therapeutic options for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) have been so far rather inadequate.Sorafenib has shown an overall survival benefit and has become the new standard of care for advanced HCC.Nevertheless,in clinical practice,some patients are discontinuing this drug because of side effects,and misinterpretation of radiographic response may contribute to this.We highlight the importance of prolonged sorafenib ad-ministration,even at reduced dose,and of qualitative and careful radiographic evaluation.We observed two partial and two complete responses,one histologically confirmed,with progression-free survival ranging from 12 to 62 mo.Three of the responses were achieved following substantial dose reductions,and a gradual change in lesion density preceded or paralleled tumor shrinkage,as seen by computed tomography.This report supports the feasibility of dose adjustments to allow prolonged administration of sorafenib,and highlights the need for new imaging criteria for a more appropriate characterization of response in HCC.展开更多
Tumor biopsies may help to reliably distinguish hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) from other tumors, mostly cholangiocarcinoma as well as to identify the patient populations who most benefit from target-driven HCC treatme...Tumor biopsies may help to reliably distinguish hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) from other tumors, mostly cholangiocarcinoma as well as to identify the patient populations who most benefit from target-driven HCC treatments, in order to improve the success rate of experimental therapies. Clarifying tumor biology may also lead to identify biomarkers with prognostic role and/or enabling to predict response or resistance to therapies. Recently, clinical trials have more efficiently included biomarker endpoints and increasingly collected tumor tissue from enrolled patients. Due to their frail status and sometimes fast-progressing disease, the performance status of patients with HCC progressing on first-line therapy can deteriorate quickly, preventing their enrollment in clinical trials. However, the challenge of identifying the proper patient at the proper time can be overcome by periodic inter-department meetings involving the key specialists taking care of HCC patients, and solid networks between research centers and referring institutions. An early planned biopsy would also facilitate timely inclusion of patients in biology-driven clinical trials. Ultimately, institution of multidisciplinary teams can optimize treatment choice, biopsy timing, and quick enrollment of patients in clinical trials, before their performance status deteriorates.展开更多
文摘The therapeutic options for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) have been so far rather inadequate.Sorafenib has shown an overall survival benefit and has become the new standard of care for advanced HCC.Nevertheless,in clinical practice,some patients are discontinuing this drug because of side effects,and misinterpretation of radiographic response may contribute to this.We highlight the importance of prolonged sorafenib ad-ministration,even at reduced dose,and of qualitative and careful radiographic evaluation.We observed two partial and two complete responses,one histologically confirmed,with progression-free survival ranging from 12 to 62 mo.Three of the responses were achieved following substantial dose reductions,and a gradual change in lesion density preceded or paralleled tumor shrinkage,as seen by computed tomography.This report supports the feasibility of dose adjustments to allow prolonged administration of sorafenib,and highlights the need for new imaging criteria for a more appropriate characterization of response in HCC.
文摘Tumor biopsies may help to reliably distinguish hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) from other tumors, mostly cholangiocarcinoma as well as to identify the patient populations who most benefit from target-driven HCC treatments, in order to improve the success rate of experimental therapies. Clarifying tumor biology may also lead to identify biomarkers with prognostic role and/or enabling to predict response or resistance to therapies. Recently, clinical trials have more efficiently included biomarker endpoints and increasingly collected tumor tissue from enrolled patients. Due to their frail status and sometimes fast-progressing disease, the performance status of patients with HCC progressing on first-line therapy can deteriorate quickly, preventing their enrollment in clinical trials. However, the challenge of identifying the proper patient at the proper time can be overcome by periodic inter-department meetings involving the key specialists taking care of HCC patients, and solid networks between research centers and referring institutions. An early planned biopsy would also facilitate timely inclusion of patients in biology-driven clinical trials. Ultimately, institution of multidisciplinary teams can optimize treatment choice, biopsy timing, and quick enrollment of patients in clinical trials, before their performance status deteriorates.
