Fibrolamellar carcinoma: Challenging the challenge

Fibrolamellar carcinoma (FLC) is a rare and poorly understood malignancy, which seems to be more prevalent in young patients compared with conventional hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Performing prospective clinical trials recruiting patients diagnosed with FLC has proven challenging with scarce data available guiding clinical management. The use of a number of chemotherapy compounds in these patients, including cisplatin, epirubicin, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and recombinant interferon α-2B (IFN-α-2B), has been reported in the literature, mainly in the form of case reports. The most promising systemic therapy tested so far is the combination of 5-FU infusion and 3-weekly IFN-α-2B, based on results from a phase II clinical trial. This article provides an overview of our own experience with this treatment schedule for patients with FLC, confirming its activity and treatment-derived benefit in the real world. Current challenges being faced by healthcare professionals treating patients with advanced FLC are discussed, especially the increasingly limited access to IFN-α-2B, which could compromise the access to an active therapy in the coming future, and the difficulties in the development of new treatment options for advanced FLC.