Nonsurgical therapies for hepatocellular and cholangiocellular carcinoma

Surgical resection is the first choice of treatment for patients with hepatocellular (HCC) and cholangiocellular carcinomas. Prolongation of survival is, however, the only realistic goal for most patients, which can be often achieved by nonsurgical therapies. Inoperable patients with large or multiple HCCs are usually treated with transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) with lipiodol in combination with a chemotherapeutic drug and gelfoam. Three-year survival depends on the stage of the disease and is about 20%. Patients with earlier tumor stages (one or two tumor nodules less than 3 cm in size) are suitable for treatment with percutaneous ethanol injection (PEI) alone or in combination with TACE. Several studies have shown that in these early stages, the 3-year survival rate is approximately 55%-70% in the actively treated patients which is significantly higher than in untreated patients. In advanced stages of the disease, TACE and PEI have no effect on survival and should not be performed. Some of these patients have been successfully treated with octreotide. Patients with inoperable cholangiocellular carcinoma are treated by endoscopic or percutaneous stent placement. If stenting does not achieve adequate biliary drainage, multidisciplinary therapy including internal/external radiotherapy or photodynamic therapy should be considered in patients with potential long-term survival. In conclusion, nonresectional therapies play an essential role in the therapy of inoperable hepato- and cholangiocellular carcinomas as they lead to satisfactory survival. Multidisciplinary therapy appears to be the current trend of management.