Description
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a major health problem with more than 660,000 new cases per year worldwide [1]. HCC is resistant to commonly used treatments like chemotherapy and radiotherapy and new anti-HCC therapies are urgently needed. Sorafenib was the first approved small molecule against HCC and underlines the importance of identifying potential new anti-HCC drugs [2].
Thirty-two 6-substituted methyl 3-aminothieno[3,2-b]pyridine-2-carboxylates, previously prepared by some of us [3,4], were evaluated as potential new anti-HCC agents by studying their in vitro cell growth inhibition on human HepG2 cells, generally regarded as a good HCC model, and hepatotoxicity using a porcine liver primary cell culture (PLP1). The presence of amino groups linked to a benzene moiety on the substituent of the 6-position emerged as the key element for the anti-HCC activity.
; Queiroz, Maria João R.P. 
