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Hepatotoxicity of New Antitumor Agents

  • Drug-Induced Liver Injury (F Bessone and R Andrade, Section Editors)
  • Published:
Current Hepatology Reports Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose of Review

Cancer therapy had a noteworthy development in recent years, mostly focused in targeted therapies. Even if it is expected that these agents would be less harmful, their use has been associated with several side effects. This review focuses on hepatotoxicity concerning molecular targeted therapy particularly the tyrosine kinase inhibitors, monoclonal antibodies, and immune checkpoint inhibitors.

Recent Findings

The tyrosine kinase inhibitor hepatotoxicity is one of the serious class-related adverse events and has been linked to severe and fatal liver injury. The use of immune checkpoint inhibitors is associated with autoimmune-like side effects. The mechanism of liver injury is likely to be immunologically mediated, even if serum autoantibodies are not usually present, and responsiveness to corticosteroid therapy is reported.

Summary

New antitumor agents, mainly tyrosine kinase inhibitors and immune checkpoint inhibitors, are a significant cause of liver injury. Even if in most instances, molecular targeted therapy-induced hepatotoxicity is reversible, several of these agents have been linked to fatal liver injury.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Clínica de Gastroenterología, Hospital de Clínicas, Facultad de Medicina, UdelaR, Montevideo, Uruguay

    Nelia Hernandez

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  1. Nelia Hernandez
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Correspondence to Nelia Hernandez.

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Nelia Hernandez declares no potential conflicts of interest.

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This article contains no studies with human or animal subjects performed by the author.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Drug-Induced Liver Injury

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Hernandez, N. Hepatotoxicity of New Antitumor Agents. Curr Hepatology Rep 16, 293–297 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11901-017-0381-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11901-017-0381-7

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