Oncology Reviews (May 2014)

Chemotherapeutic agents for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma: efficacy and mode of action

  • Saad Shaaban,
  • Amr Negm,
  • Elsayed E. Ibrahim,
  • Ahmed A. Elrazak

DOI
https://doi.org/10.4081/oncol.2014.246
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 8, no. 1

Abstract

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Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a dreaded malignancy that every year causes half a million deaths worldwide. Being an aggressive cancer, its incidence exceeds 700,000 new cases per year worldwide with a median survival of 6-8 months. Despite advances in prognosis and early detection, effective HCC chemoprevention or treatment strategies are still lacking, therefore its dismal survival rate remains largely unchanged. This review will characterize currently available chemotherapeutic drugs used in the treatment of HCC. The respective mode(s) of action, side effects and recommendations will be also described for each drug.

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