Cover caption

Abstract

As scientists search for new druggable targets for cancer, kinases have become popular choices. Currently many kinase inhibitors are on the market or in clinical trials. A real and interesting issue is that of off-target effects, their identification, and their impact on dosing as well as tumor response. Although identifying other kinases targeted by a drug is a (relatively) easy question to answer, other cellular effects of a drug are more difficult to identify. In the current issue of Cancer Biology & Therapy, Chiou and colleagues look for downstream effects of sorafenib, a multikinase inhibitor, on HepG2 hepatocellular cancer (HCC) cells. Although in the past it has been primarily confined to Asia, HCC is a burgeoning problem with sorafenib as a recently approved therapy. The authors test sorafenib’s ability to kill Hep G2 cells. The cover image shows mitotracker (green) staining to visualize the mitochondria of a HepG2 cell prior to treatment with sorafenib, and nuclei are stained red. To see the effects of sorafenib on the mitochondria of HepG2 cells and to learn more about the cellular effects of sorafenib, see the article by Chiou and colleagues.