Management of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Overview

Management of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a rapidly evolving field. Advances in liver surgery and transplantation mean that curative treatment can be offered to patients with HCC in compensated livers who are diagnosed early or to those who are within transplant criteria. Explanted livers have provided a growing understanding of the underlying mechanisms in hepatocarcinogenesis and diagnostic modalities. Several locoregional therapies are also available. For advanced tumors, molecular targeted therapies are yielding promising results. Because of the heterogeneity of the patients and the disease, many questions are waiting for answers through well-designed, adequately powered, and bias-free multicenter, controlled, randomized trials.