Large hepatocellular carcinoma treated with sequential SBRT and immunotherapy with anti-VEGF (Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor) therapy

Abstract

Managing large solitary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains challenging as guidelines recommend a palliative approach given the general poor prognosis without accounting for variations in the underlying tumour biology. Surgical resection provides significantly better survival than other modalities for HCC, but only a small proportion of patients with large tumours qualify for surgical resection. Recently, with technological advances in radiation therapy, stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) has emerged as an alternative treatment option for HCC. In this paper, we present a patient who was diagnosed with a 13 cm HCC with vascular invasion. SBRT was delivered as a locoregional therapy followed by immunotherapy with the outcome of complete pathological response observed on right hemi-hepatectomy.