Clinical research progress in Erlotinib treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma

Erlotinib achieves antitumor activity by selective inhibition of the epidermal growth factor receptor. This paper summarizes the results of phase Ⅱ- Ⅲ clinical trials of erlotinib in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma( HCC). Two phase Ⅱ clinical trials demonstrated the modest antitumor activity of erlotinib alone in patients with HCC. Additionally,two phase Ⅱ clinical trials conducted in the USA showed the excellent efficacy of erlotinib combined with bevacizumab for HCC,but with an increased risk of variceal bleeding. By contrast,two phase Ⅱ clinical trials conducted in Asia showed the poor efficacy of erlotinib combined with bevacizumab for HCC. Recently,a randomized controlled phase Ⅲ trial failed to confirm any substantial improvement in overall survival time in HCC patients treated with sorafenib combined with erlotinib compared with sorafenib alone. Future studies should identify the candidates for erlotinib among patients with HCC based on the clinical and molecular prognostic biomarkers.