Hepatocellular carcinoma: From diagnosis to treatment

Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the sixth most prevalent malignancy worldwide and is a rising cause of cancer related mortality. Risk factors for HCC are well documented and effective surveillance and early diagnosis allow for curative therapies. The majority of HCC appears to be caused by cirrhosis from chronic hepatitis B and hepatitis C virus. Preventive strategies include vaccination programs and anti-viral treatments. Surveillance with ultrasonography detects early stage disease and improves survival rates. Many treatment options exist for individuals with HCC and are determined by stage of presentation. Liver transplantation is offered to patients who are within the Milan criteria and are not candidates for hepatic resection. In patients with advanced stage disease, sorafenib shows some survival benefit.

Disparities in Time to Treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Patients with Hepatitis B Virus versus Hepatitis C Virus

“…Of the patients who received treatment, 22% of patients with HCV related HCC underwent curative modalities which included liver transplantation and surgical resection compared to 45% of HBV related HCC patients (p<0.001). We suspect that the reason for higher resection rates in the HBV group is due to less cirrhosis in the HBV group compared to HCV group [9,14,15,16]. Historically, Asian patients with HCC in the US received more curative resections (40%) when compared to an average HCC patient (15%), possibly explained by a lower percentage of cirrhosis in the HBV group [21].…”

“…Although this difference was not statistically significant, up to 26% of patients with HBV was diagnosed under age 40, while none of the patients with HCV presented younger than age 40 (p<0.001) [9]. The difference in age at diagnosis of HCC between HCV and HBV patients was validated in a Korean study where 3232 patients were analysed from a national cancer registry [14]. The median age of HCV patients was significantly older when compared to HBV patients (65.4 vs. 53.9, p<0.01).…”

“…Even though cirrhosis score as calculated by Child Pugh Class and BCLC score were similar in the HBV and HCV groups in our study; historically, HCV patients have more cirrhosis [14,15]. In a retrospective study looking at HBV and HCV related HCC over a 10 year period, 815 patients treated at MD Anderson Cancer Center were analysed.…”

Cancer in North Cyprus: 1. Current Status, An Overview

“…In the case of skin cancer, these would also include exposure to bright sunlight. Second, of the three most serious cancers, the high incidence of liver cancer was rather surprising since this is often associated with chronic hepatitis B/C viral infection and occurs most commonly in countries of the "third world" including many areas of Africa (6). Other risk factors include alcohol and arsenic (7).…”

Lipid-coated iron oxide nanoparticles for dual-modal imaging of hepatocellular carcinoma

“…[1][2][3] Accurate diagnosis of HCC is crucial for optimizing treatment outcomes. 4 Diagnostic imaging technology, including ultrasound (US), computed tomography (CT), and positron emission computed tomography (PET), has become an active area of research and has been playing a key role in HCC diagnosis. [5][6][7][8] Despite the diversity of bio-imaging techniques, several technical problems have yet to be solved, such as weak penetrability, low sensitivity, and insufficient spatial or temporal resolution, which hinder accurate diagnosis.…”