Hepatocellular carcinoma: current management and recent advances

Area of Science:

• Hepatology
• Surgical Oncology
• Gastroenterology

Background:

• Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a significant global health issue, ranking as the fifth most common cancer and third leading cause of cancer death.
• Prognosis for HCC is poor without effective treatment, emphasizing the need for cancer control strategies.
• Management aims to reduce HCC incidence and mortality while enhancing patient and family quality of life.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review current management strategies for Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC).
• To discuss recent advancements in HCC treatment.
• To provide an overview of therapeutic options for HCC patients.

Main Methods:

• A comprehensive literature search was conducted using MEDLINE.
• Keywords included "hepatocellular carcinoma", "hepatectomy", "liver transplantation", and "local ablative therapy".
• References from key articles and book chapters were manually reviewed.

Main Results:

• Liver resection and liver transplantation offer the best curative potential for HCC.
• Local ablative therapy shows promise for small HCC with preserved liver function.
• Transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) is effective for unresectable HCC; TARE and local ablative therapies also yield comparable results.

Conclusions:

• Early HCC diagnosis is crucial for improving patient outcomes.
• Significant improvements in operative mortality and surgical outcomes for liver resection and transplantation have been observed.
• Multi-modality therapy enhances survival and quality of life for advanced HCC cases.