A phase I trial of escalating doses of cixutumumab (IMC-A12) and sorafenib in the treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma

Purpose The insulin-like growth factor (IGF) pathway is activated in hepatocarcinogenesis. Cixutumumab is a monoclonal antibody against human insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor (IGF-1R). Given the cross-talk between the IGF and VEGF pathways, we performed a phase I study of the combination of cixutumumab and sorafenib in hepatocellular cancer (HCC).