cancers Review Genetic Heterogeneity, Therapeutic Hurdle Confronting Sorafenib and Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Sara M. Atwa 1,2, Margarete Odenthal 3 and Hend M. El Tayebi 2,* 1 Pharmaceutical Biology Department, German University in Cairo, Cairo 11865, Egypt;
[email protected] 2 Molecular Pharmacology Research Group, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, German University in Cairo, Cairo 11835, Egypt 3 Institute for Pathology, University Hospital Cologne, 50924 Cologne, Germany;
[email protected] * Correspondence:
[email protected] Simple Summary: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) represents a worldwide health challenge, rank- ing globally as the third most common cause of cancer-related mortality. Current advancements in the HCC therapeutic armamentarium succeeded in challenging HCC conventional therapy. Systemic therapies including tyrosine kinase inhibitors and immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) come at the forefront of novel HCC therapeutic modalities. However, emerging drug resistance remains an obstacle during HCC therapy. According to the ongoing genomic analysis of HCC, a complex mutational landscape lies behind HCC pathogenesis and hence, affects the response of the tumor to the applied therapy. This review aims at categorizing and summarizing the different resistance Citation: Atwa, S.M.; Odenthal, M.; mechanisms confronting tyrosine kinase inhibitors, represented by sorafenib, as well as ICIs, during M. El Tayebi, H. Genetic HCC therapy. In addition, giving an insight into how genomic heterogeneity can influence the Heterogeneity, Therapeutic Hurdle response of HCC to the aforementioned therapies. Confronting Sorafenib and Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in Abstract: Despite the latest advances in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) screening and treatment Hepatocellular Carcinoma.