Advances in systemic therapy for the first-line treatment of unresectable HCC

Introduction:

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common and deadliest cancers worldwide. In recent years, several drugs have been approved in first- and second-line setting. Currently, several phase-III trials are ongoing with combinations of checkpoint inhibitors, tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) and anti-angiogenic antibodies, which will most likely increase therapeutic options in frontline therapy in the near future.

Areas covered:

This review summarizes the standard of care in first-line systemic therapy for patients with advanced HCC and provides an outlook on the most promising combinations currently tested in prospective trials.

Expert opinion:

The recent approval of nove…