[Therapeutic interventional radiology procedures in hepatocellular carcinoma]

Interventional treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma is indicated if surgical treatment is impossible. Selection of the individual method of interventional treatment is determined by the size, location and number of tumors and by the grade of tumor vascularization. Tumors below 5 cm in diameter are well-suitable for aethanol ablation. In larger tumors and in tumors with high-grade vascularization transarterial chemoembolization is probably more effective. In patients with more than 3 tumor nodules chemoembolization is the treatment of choice. On the other hand chemoembolization shows reduced efficacy in tumors with low-grade hypervascularization and the aethanol ablation as a stand-alone procedure or supplemental treatment seems to be valuable. Until now there is no generally accepted opinion in terms of the indications for different methods of interventional treatment. Further comparative studies including aethanol ablation, chemoembolization and resection are necessary.