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New Drugs for Liver Cancer
By Keith A. Muhleman

June 2007

Liver cancer is one of the few drugs for which the annual death rate is increasing – about 16,000 Americans and 600,000 globally. This is roughly double the number since 1987. The disease usually follows organ damage because of hepatitis B, hepatitis C or cirrhosis of the liver.

It was reported in The Wall Street Journal (June 5, 2007) that now there are a number of targeted drugs in development and on the market that can extend the life of those with the disease. Naxavar, a drug currently approved for kidney cancer, leads the way and was found to block the proliferation of cancer cells and to shut down the blood vessels to the cancer (a process called angiogenesis). In a trial of 602 patients, this meant a 44% improvement in overall survival. Other promising drugs being tested include Avastin (a blood-vessel-blocking drug now used in colorectal and lung cancers) and Sutent (a similar angiogenic drug used for kidney cancer.)

Dr. Joseph Llovet, Director of Liver Cancer Research at Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York, called this “a real breakthrough in the treatment of a very harsh and unforgiving disease.”

The Cancer Research and Treatment Fund has been privileged to be associated with the development of targeted therapies that are reflected in these successful trials. In 2001, treatment protocols for blood cancers changed with the introduction of Gleevec as a successful treatment for CML. The medical affiliates of CR&T and the William Waugh and Judy Olin Higgins Center for the Study of Myeloproliferative Diseases are engaged in various current trails to discover more therapies for treatment not only of blood cancers but treatments that can lead to a better prognosis for patients with solid tumor cancers.