Introduction Locoregional therapy is the primary treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Sorafenib was approved as a first-line systemic therapy for advanced HCC with associated extrahepatic spread and/or vascular invasion in 2007. However, there are several limitations associated with sorafenib therapy. To overcome these problems, various clinical trials have been conducted to develop additional molecular targeted agents for HCC. However, all of the clinical trials conducted thus far, except for a recent trial using regorafenib, have been unsuccessful, emphasizing the difficulties associated with drug development for HCC. In this editorial, we review the current status and future prospects of molecular targeted agents that are being developed for HCC. Sorafenib The multikinase inhibitor sorafenib was the first oral molecular targeted agent to show a survival benefit in patients with HCC [1, 2]. In Japan, sorafenib was approved for national health insurance coverage in May 2009, and it has since been administered to more than 26,000 patients.
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