Based on REACH-2, a phase 3 trial, ramucirumab (Cyramza®, Eli Lilly) was granted FDA approval for patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma, a-fetoprotein concentrations of ≥400 ng/mL, and who have been previously treated with sorafenib. Ramucirumab had already been FDA approved for treatment of advanced gastric cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, and metastatic colorectal cancer. This drug works as a monoclonal antibody that targets and binds to the vascular endothelial growth factor rece...

​ In a single pathogen sensor, researchers have found both a potential therapeutic target and a possible way to improve the efficacy of current immune checkpoint blockade therapies for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common type of primary liver cancer. Since HCC is associated with chronic inflammation, and NLRP12, a cytosolic pathogen sensor, is a negative regulator of inflammation, researchers at the University of Texas (UT) Southwestern Medical Center decided to investigate its role ...

Liver cancer is the most rapidly rising cause of cancer death in the United States. Known risk factors for this disease include hepatitis C virus (HCV), obesity, diabetes, smoking, and excessive alcohol consumption. In addition, researchers have now discovered that death from liver cancer correlates with lower levels of education, especially for men. In this study, published in Cancer, the scientists analyzed data from the National Vital Statistics System of the National Center for Health Statis...

​ With a five-year overall survival rate under 10%, the outlook is poor for individuals diagnosed with biliary tract cancer. Only 20% of patients are eligible for surgical resection with the intent to cure the disease. In addition, until this point, no studies have identified a beneficial adjuvant therapy. In order to remedy this problem, the researchers of the BILCAP study (EudraCT 2005-003318-13), a phase 3 clinical trial featuring a collaboration of 44 specialist hepato-pancreato-biliary cent...

​Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common type of primary liver cancer, is a challenging condition to treat, with reported five-year survival rates ranging from 30% to 50%. Recently, the FDA approved cabozantinib (Cabometyx®, Exelixis, Inc.) as second-line treatment for patients with HCC previously treated with sorafenib. Thomas A. Abrams, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, spoke with i3 Health about cabozantinib's approval and about the various options now ava...