Molecular Mechanisms of Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Insights to Therapy

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most frequently occurring human malignancies in the world and is associated with a high mortality rate. As such, understanding the molecular underpinnings of this cancer in order to identify novel diagnostic markers, therapeutic targets, and prognostic indicators that aid in patient care is a major goal for clinicians and researchers alike. Progress has been made on this front over the past several years resulting in the development of drugs that specifically target processes believed to propagate HCC cell transformation, growth, and metastasis such as cell surface receptor–ligand interaction and signal transduction, cell cycle and apoptosis progression, extracellular matrix remodeling, vasculogenesis, motility, histone modification, and others. Many of these agents have been assessed in pre-clinical animal models and are now being evaluated in human clinical trials in the United States and elsewhere. This chapter will discuss targeted therapies for HCC under study in humans as well as the pathways they intercept.