Tolerability of the mTOR inhibitor rapamycin in cirrhotic patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma

Introduction: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignancies worldwide. In the West, around 40% of patients are eligible for potential curative treatment (resection, transplantation or local ablative treatment) and 20% for chemoembolization. Sorafenib, a multikinase inhibitor, represents a breakthrough in the management of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. A new therapeutic option for those patients would be inhibition of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signalling pathway which is involved in multiple cellular functions including proliferation, differentiation, tumorgenesis, and apoptosis. Rapamycin (=…