Combination of the Deacetylase Inhibitor Panobinostat and the Multi-Kinase Inhibitor Sorafenib for the Treatment of Metastatic Hepatocellular Carcinoma - Review of the Underlying Molecular Mechanisms and First Case Report

Susanne Gahr^1,2, Till Wissniowski^1,3, Steffen Zopf¹, Deike Strobel¹, Anette Pustowka⁴, Matthias Ocker^{1,5 ✉}

1. Department of Medicine 1, University Hospital Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany
2. Klinikum Nuremberg Nord, Department of Pneumology, Nuremberg, Germany
3. Division of Gastroenterology, University Hospital Marburg, Marburg, Germany
4. Novartis Pharma GmbH, Nuremberg, Germany
5. Institute for Surgical Research, Philipps University Marburg, Marburg, Germany

Abstract

Advanced hepatocellular carcinoma still represents an unmet medical need that has only a limited overall survival despite the introduction of the multi-kinase inhibitor sorafenib. Recently, inhibitors of histone and other protein deacetylases have been established as novel therapeutic approaches to cancer diseases. We here review the molecular rationale for combining these two novel targeted therapies and report a patient with metastasized hepatocellular carcinoma who showed a partial remission of primary and metastatic lesions for five months after a combination therapy with sorafenib and the orally available pan-deacetylase inhibitor panobinostat.

Keywords: hepatocellular carcinoma, sorafenib, panobinostat, deacetylase inhibitor

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY-NC) License. See http://ivyspring.com/terms for full terms and conditions.

How to cite this article:
Gahr S, Wissniowski T, Zopf S, Strobel D, Pustowka A, Ocker M. Combination of the Deacetylase Inhibitor Panobinostat and the Multi-Kinase Inhibitor Sorafenib for the Treatment of Metastatic Hepatocellular Carcinoma - Review of the Underlying Molecular Mechanisms and First Case Report. J Cancer 2012; 3:158-165. doi:10.7150/jca.4211. Available from http://www.jcancer.org/v03p0158.htm