Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fourth leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Novel treatment strategies derived from increased knowledge of molecular oncology are constantly being developed to cure this disease. Here, we used phage display to identify novel peptides, including (SP94), which binds specifically to HCC cells. In vitro, the phage clone PC94 binds to HCC cell lines. In vivo, PC94 homed specifically to tumor tissues but not to normal visceral organs in SCID mice bearing human HCC xenografts. The homing ability could be competitively inhibited by synthetic peptide, SP94. PC94 localized to tumor tissues but could not be detected in SP94-competed tumor tissues or in normal organs. In addition, PC94 recognized the tumor tissue but not non-tumor tissue in surgical specimens from HCC patients, with a positive rate of 61.3% (19/31). With the conjugation of SP94 and liposomal doxorubicin, a targeted drug delivery system enhanced the therapeutic efficacy against HCC xenografts through enhanced tumor apoptosis and decreased tumor angiogenesis. Our results indicate that SP94 can improve the systemic treatment of patients with advanced HCC.Linvention concerne le domaine du carcinome hépatocellulaire (HCC), la quatrième cause de décès par cancer dans le monde. De nouvelles stratégies de traitement issues du développement des connaissances relatives à loncologie moléculaire sont développées en permanence pour soigner cette maladie. Nous utilisons ici lexpression à la surface des phages pour identifier de nouveaux peptides, y compris (SP94), qui se lie spécifiquement aux cellules de HCC. In vitro, le clone phagique PC94 se lie aux lignées cellulaires de HCC. In vivo, PC94 se dirige spécifiquement vers les tissus tumoraux et non vers les organes viscéraux normaux chez les souris SCID portant des xénogreffes humaines de HCC. La capacité de nostocytose peut être inhibée par concurrence par le peptide synthétique, SP94. PC94 se place dans les tissus tumoraux mais n
