Treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a highly prevalent and lethal neoplasia. Major advances in the management of HCC have changed the perception of HCC, which is no longer seen as a terminal event in the natural history of cirrhosis. Today, a high proportion of patients are diagnosed at an early stage when potentially curative treatments are feasible (surgical resection, liver transplantation and percutaneous ablation). In addition, there are palliative treatments that are able to improve survival. Positive results with sorafenib (a multikinase inhibitor with antiproliferative and antiangiogenic effects) in advanced HCC are proof that molecular targeted therapies may be successful in this chemoresistant neoplasia and have triggered active research. In this article, we briefly review the current treatment strategy in HCC with special emphasis on new advances in the field. © 2011 Touch Briefings.