Evaluating the response to locoregional and systemic treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma

Evaluating the response to different treatments is a decisive factor in the clinical management of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma because it can determine the efficacy of the treatment and because it can detect the recurrence of treated tumors or the appearance of new lesions that can be candidates for new treatments. When locoregional treatments that induce necrosis or molecular therapies are applied, the treated lesions usually change their behavior on imaging studies. It is important to point out that the size of the lesions does not usually decrease, at least initially, and some lesions can even appear to increase in size. For this reason, it is essential to know the mechanisms of action for each treatment applied and the spectrum of findings that these treatments can cause in the different imaging techniques used to assess the response.