New trials and results in systemic treatment of HCC

The design of prospective trials in hepatocellular carcinoma is a true challenge because the underlying condition of the liver, upon drug exposure, could interact with the specific course of carcinoma and influence overall outcome. The information generated by basic and clinical researchers provides the rationale for improving the prognosis of this complex disease. However, an additional challenge is interpreting emerging data in real time in order to integrate them into the design of further trials. Analysing recent results in detail may contribute to improving trial design and analysis, expediting the translation of a novel agent's potential benefit, assessed in prospective interventions, to clinical practice. This review summarises the data already known and discusses newly available results, along with ongoing systemic trials in hepatocellular carcinoma treatment.