Current Cancer Drug Targets - Volume 12, Issue 9, 2012

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a global health problem and responsible for up to 500.000 deaths annually. It usually occurs secondary to infections with hepatitis B or C viruses, alcohol consumption, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis or hereditary liver diseases. The prognosis for patients with advanced disease is dismal; therefore, new strategies to prevent or treat this malignancy are urgently needed. Over recent years, s Read More

In May 2007, sorafenib (Nexavar®) was approved for “unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)”, and was the first molecular targeted agent for use in HCC. To date, sorafenib is the only molecular-targeted agent, whose survival benefit has been demonstrated in two global phase III randomized controlled trials, and has now been approved worldwide. Phase III clinical trials of other molecular targeted agents compari Read More

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common malignancy that affects a large number of patients worldwide, with an increasing incidence in the United States and Europe. The therapies that are currently available for patients with inoperable HCC have limited benefits. Although molecular targeted therapies against selected cell signaling pathways have shown some promising results, their impact has been minimal. There is Read More

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common human cancers. HCC is a chemoresistant cancer and the current drug therapy has limited efficacy. As a result, the prognosis of HCC patients is generally poor. Recent studies have demonstrated that a subpopulation of cancer cells with stem cell properties, called cancer stem cells (CSCs), are responsible for growth and metastasis of cancer. CSCs characterized by s Read More

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains one of the most lethal cancers in the world. Since current treatment options including surgical resection and liver transplantation offer limited therapeutic benefits, there exists a need to evaluate novel therapeutic strategies for the amelioration of HCC. Hepatic tumors are highly vascularized, possessing a rich network of blood vessels and capillaries and there exist an angiogenic compon Read More

The poor prognosis for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is associated with its high rate of recurrence in the cirrhotic liver. Therefore, development of effective strategies for preventing recurrence and secondary tumors will improve the clinical outcome of HCC patients. A malfunction of the retinoid X receptor-α (RXRα) due to phosphorylation by the Ras-MAPK signaling pathway is profoundly associated with liver carcinogenes Read More

Chronic fibrotic liver diseases such as viral hepatitis eventually develop liver cirrhosis, which causes occurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Given the limited therapeutic efficacy in advanced HCC, prevention of HCC development could be an effective strategy for improving patient prognosis. However, there is still no established therapy to meet the goal. Studies have elucidated a wide variety of molecular mechanis Read More

In this review, the role of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) in hepatocarcinogenesis is examined. The administration of several hepatic tumor promoters leads to the activation of NF-κB in the liver of rats and mice. Many studies support the hypothesis that the activation of NF-κB in the liver is inhibited by antioxidants. The role of NF-κB in hepatocarcinogenesis has been examined using NF-κB overexpression and knockout models. The r Read More

Bioactive food components (BFACs) represent promising candidates for liver cancer chemoprevention. Among them, isoprenic derivatives (carotenoids, retinoids, perillyl alcohol, limonene, geraniol, farnesol, geranylgeraniol and β- ionone) can be highlighted. The relevance of animal models for the investigation of chemopreventive agents is supported by comparative functional genomic studies that reinforce the simil Read More

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), one of the most common and lethal cancers, is a growing menace in modern society. Until recently, the majority of detected cases of liver cancer have been found in the developing nations of Asia and Africa; however, its occurrence has significantly increased in the United States. HCC occurs due to several etiologies, such as alcoholism, dietary carcinogens, iron overload, viral hepatitis, as well Read More

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is considered as auxotrophic for arginine and BCT-100, a new recombinant human arginase, has been synthesized for arginine deprivation to inhibit arginine-dependent tumor growth. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of BCT-100 on the inhibition of in vitro cell proliferation of HCC cell lines and in vivo tumor growth. The molecular mechanism involved was also studied. Th Read More

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), considered to be one of the most lethal cancers with almost >1 million deaths reported annually worldwide, remains a devastating disease with no known effective cure. Hence, chemopreventive strategies come into play, offering an effective and safe mode of treatment, ideal to ward off potential cancer risks and mortality. A major predisposing condition, pertinent to the development Read More