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Incidence of hepatocellular cancer (HCC) — the third most common cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide — is mounting rapidly in the U.S., likely because of the increasing rates of hepatitis C viral infection. Most HCC patients present with advanced or metastatic disease (for which no accepted palliative chemotherapy exists) and generally have poor therapy tolerance, caused by both advancing cancer and cirrhotic liver disease. Given that hepatocellular tumors are highly vascular, activation of potential angiogenic pathways, such as the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) receptor and the Raf-1 kinase pathways, is implicated in HCC tumorigenesis. Sorafenib (Nexavar), an oral tyrosine kinase inhibitor of the VEGF receptor and Raf-1 an…