Sorafenib: A kinase inhibitor

Sorafenib is a medicine that targets proteins in cancer cells and stops the cancer cells from growing. It is used to treat liver cancer, thyroid cancer, or kidney cancer.

Sorafenib is also used to treat hepatocellular carcinoma (a type of liver cancer) that cannot be treated with surgery and a certain type of thyroid cancer that has spread to other parts of the body and cannot be treated with radioactive iodine.

Pharmacokinetics

Sorafenib is in a class of medications called kinase inhibitors. It works by blocking the action of an abnormal protein that signals cancer cells to multiply. This helps stop the spread of cancer cells.

Sorafenib is a small lipophilic molecule with low-solubility and high permeability. After oral administration, it is rapidly absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract and reaches the liver via the portal vein. 

It inhibits tumor cell proliferation and angiogenesis via targeting numerous serine/threonine and tyrosine kinases (RAF1, BRAF, VEGFR 1, 2, 3, PDGFR, KIT, FLT3, FGFR1, and RET) in multiple oncogenic signaling pathways .

Side effects

The most common adverse effects associated with sorafenib include hand-foot skin reaction (HFSR), diarrhea, hypertension, rash, fatigue, abdominal pain and nausea. 

Serious adverse effects (eg. liver failure, myocardial infarction) are rare but may arise in some cases. Adverse events may lead to compromised efficacy due to dose reduction or treatment interruptions.