Liver cancer, mostly hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), is the second leading causeof cancer mortality globally. Most patients were diagnosed at an advanced stage, and systemictherapy is the standard of care. All the approved systemic therapies for HCC are molecular targeted therapies with anti-angiogenic effects targeting the vascular endothelial growth factorsignaling pathway. Sorafenib and lenvatinib are the first-line treatment, and regorafenib, ramucirumab, and cabozantinib are second-line treatment options. Although anti-PD-1 antibodies, including nivolumab and pembrolizumab, demonstrated promising anti-tumor effectsas monotherapy for advanced HCC in phase II clinical trials, both failed in phase III studies.Anti-angiogenic treatment remains the backbone of systemic therapy for HCC. In this review,we summarized the approved anti-angiogenic medicines and discussed the potential strategiesto improve the efficacy of anti-angiogenic therapy, including combination therapy with othertreatments, and discussed the approaches to overcome the drawbacks of anti-angiogenic therapies.
展开▼
