Liver cancer, a large proportion of which is
hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), is diagnosed in more than 700000 people each year worldwide.
Liver cancer is particularly prevalent in Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa and the South Pacific, where
hepatitis B and
hepatitis C infection rates are very high. However, due to resistance to
chemotherapy, patients with intermediate and advanced-stage disease cannot benefit from this treatment.
Clusterin, which is overexpressed in many different
cancers, is a stress-induced cytoprotective
protein that confers treatment resistance.
Custirsen (OGX-011) is a novel 2'-methoxyethyl modified phosphorothioate
antisense oligonucleotide that targets secretory
clusterin protein expression and is currently in clinical trials for patients with different
cancers. In recent years, a number of different clinical trials have been performed, and two phase III clinical trials of
custirsen evaluating combinations with
chemotherapy in patients with metastatic
castration-resistant
prostate cancer and metastatic
non-small cell lung cancer are currently in progress. The aims of this review are to summarize the current state of research on
clusterin, predict future research directions and analyze the potential of the clinical application of
custirsen in HCC.