Study of the Month. Palliative management of hepatocarcinoma with Sorafenib (Nexavar) : Results of the SHARP (Sorafenib Hepatocarcinoma Assessment Randomized Protocol) trial

peer reviewedCurative management of early-stage hepatocarcinoma may include partial hepatic resection, liver transplantation or tumoral necrosis using radiofrequency ablation or alcoholisation. Until recently, no efficient therapeutic mean was available for advanced hepatocarcinoma. Sorafenib is a multikinase inhibitor that decreases tumoral proliferation and angiogenesis, and increases apoptosis in many cancer models. The results of a phase 3 randomized, multicentric, study, entitled SHARP, have now demonstrated that Sorafenib increases survival in patients with advanced hepatocarcinoma developed in Child A cirrhosis. Mean survival gain was a little less than 3 months, without any radiologic response or improvement in the delay before symptomatic progression of the disease. The monthly cost of Sorafenib is a little more than 5,000 euros. It is now crucial to evaluate the potential role of Sorafenib in adjuvant therapy after liver resection or radiofrequency ablation of hepatocarcinoma. The CHU of Liège is taking part to a randomized, multicentric study evaluating the use of Sorafenib after liver resection or radiofrequency ablation for hepatocarcinoma. Another future evaluation could be the association of Sorafenib with other antitumoral agents