Systemic therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma.

Understanding core signaling pathways in hepatic carcinogenesis has brought about a new era in the management of hepatocellular carcinoma. Sorafenib was the first molecular targeted therapy to be approved for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma and is the benchmark for all other therapies. Cytotoxic chemotherapy remains the mainstay treatment of advanced cholangiocarcinoma and there are no US Food and Drug Administration-approved molecular targeted therapies. If clinicians are able to minimize the toxicity of therapy by targeting the driving mechanism of cell proliferation, they will be able to significantly improve the survival and quality of life of patients.