Anatomic location/size and number of lesions,inadequate volume of future liver remnant,or poor coexisting premorbid conditions preclude surgery in the majority of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC).Liver tran...Anatomic location/size and number of lesions,inadequate volume of future liver remnant,or poor coexisting premorbid conditions preclude surgery in the majority of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC).Liver transplantation can cure some patients with poor liver function,but few patients are eligible because of scarcity of donors.Without specific anti-cancer treatment,the prognosis of HCC is poor.Various locoregional therapies are used to treat patients who are not candidates for surgery,and have emerged as tools for palliation,tumor downstaging,and bridging therapy prior to liver transplantation.Currently,local ablative therapy even competes with partial hepatectomy and liver transplantation as a primary treatment for small HCC.HCC is well suited to treatment with loco-regional therapy because it has a tendency to stay within the liver,with distant metastasis generally occurring late in the course of disease.This suggests that an effective local-regional therapy can have a great impact on HCC patients who are not candidates for surgical treatment.Loco-regional therapy can further be justified because patients with HCC usually die of liver failure consequent to intrahepatic growth resulting in liver tissue destruction,rather than extrahepatic metastases.展开更多
Loco-regional treatments for hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) are important alternatives to curative transplantation or resection.Among them,radiofrequency ablation(RFA) is accepted as the most popular technique showing ...Loco-regional treatments for hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) are important alternatives to curative transplantation or resection.Among them,radiofrequency ablation(RFA) is accepted as the most popular technique showing excellent local tumor control and acceptable morbidity.The current role of RFA is well documented in the evidence-based practice guidelines of European Association of Study of Liver,American Association of Study of the Liver Disease and Japanese academic societies.Several randomized controlled trials have confirmed that RFA is superior to percutaneous ethanol injections in terms of local tumor control and survival.The overall survival after RFA is comparable to after surgical resection in a selected group of patients with smaller(< 3 cm) tumors.Currently,the clinical benefits of combined RFA with transarterial chemoembolization for intermediate stage HCC are increasingly being explored.Here we review the ongoing technical advancements of RFA and future potential.展开更多
Hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) is a common, increasingly prevalent malignancy. For all but the smallest lesions, surgical removal of cancer via resection or liver transplantation(LT) is considered the most feasible pat...Hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) is a common, increasingly prevalent malignancy. For all but the smallest lesions, surgical removal of cancer via resection or liver transplantation(LT) is considered the most feasible pathway to cure. Resection- even with favorable survival- is associated with a fairly high rate of recurrence, perhaps since most HCCs occur in the setting of cirrhosis. LT offers the advantage of removing not only the cancer but the diseased liver from which the cancer has arisen, and LT outperforms resection for survival with selected patients. Since time waiting for LT is time during which HCC can progress, locoregional therapy(LRT) is widely employed by transplant centers. The purpose of LRT is either to bridge patients to LT by preventing progression and waitlist dropout, or to downstage patients who slightly exceed standard eligibility criteria initially but can fall within it after treatment. Transarterial chemoembolization and radiofrequency ablation have been the most widely utilized LRTs to date, with favorable efficacy and safety as a bridge to LT(and for the former, as a downstaging modality). The list of potentially effective LRTs has expanded in recent years, and includes transarterial chemoembolization with drug-eluting beads, radioembolization and novel forms of extracorporal therapy. Herein we appraise the various LRT modalities for HCC, and their potential roles in specific clinical scenarios in patients awaiting LT.展开更多
BACKGROUND: The number of loco-regional therapies (LRTs) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has increased dramatically during the past decade. Many patients with HCC who were beyond the Milan criteria were allowed to ...BACKGROUND: The number of loco-regional therapies (LRTs) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has increased dramatically during the past decade. Many patients with HCC who were beyond the Milan criteria were allowed to receive a liver transplantation (LT) once the HCC was successfully down-staged. This retrospective study aimed to analyze the outcomes of LRTs prior to LT in patients with HCC beyond the Milan criteria. METHODS: We analyzed 56 patients treated from June 2006 to March 2010: 22 met the Milan criteria (T1+T2, 39.3%), 16 had T3 tumors (28.6%), and 11 had T4a tumors (19.6%), while 7 were suspected of tumor vascular invasion (T4b, 12.5%). All patients underwent preoperative LRTs, including transcatheter arterial chemoembolization, radiofrequency ablation, percutaneous ethanol injection, liver resection, and/or microwave coagulation therapy. The number of the patients who were successfully down-staged before LT, the types of LRTs used before LT, and their outcomes after LT were recorded. RESULTS: Eleven patients had necrotic tumors (pT0, 19.6%); 6 had pT1 tumors (10.7%), 22 had pT2 tumors (39.3%), 6 had pT3 tumors (10.7%), 5 had pT4a tumors (8.9%), and 6 had pT4b tumors (10.7%). The histopathologic tumors of 39 patients (69.6%) were down-staged and met the established Milan criteria (pT0-2). Imaging-proven under-staging was present in 5 HCC patients (8.9%) who had tumors involving the intrahepatic venous system. Twenty-three patients (41.1%) had stable HCC and 10 (17.9%) died. The 1-, 3- and 4-year survival rates were 96%, 73% and 61%, respectively, with a mean survival time of 22.29±1.63 months. Six patients died of tumorrecurrence. The 1-, 3- and 4-year recurrence-free survival (RFS) rates were 88%, 75% and 66%, respectively. The 3-year RFS of patients with pT0-2 tumors was 82%, which was markedly greater than that of patients with pT3 tumors (63%, P=0.018) or pT4 tumors (17%, P=0.000). Although the 3-year RFS of patients with pT3 tumors was greater than that of patients with pT4 tumors, the difference w展开更多
BACKGROUND Loco-regional therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) during the period awaiting liver transplantation(LT) appears to be a logical approach to reduce the risk of tumor progression and dropout in the waitl...BACKGROUND Loco-regional therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) during the period awaiting liver transplantation(LT) appears to be a logical approach to reduce the risk of tumor progression and dropout in the waitlist.Living donor LT(LDLT)offers a flexible timing for transplantation providing timeframe for well preparation of transplantation.AIM To investigate outcomes in relation to the intention of pre-transplantation locoregional therapy in LDLT for HCC patients.METHODS A total of 308 consecutive patients undergoing LDLTs for HCC between August2004 and December 2018 were retrospectively analyzed.Patients were grouped according to the intention of loco-regional therapy prior to LT,and outcomes of patients were analyzed and compared between groups.RESULTS Overall,38 patients(12.3%) were detected with HCC recurrence during the follow-up period after LDLT.Patients who were radiologically beyond the University of California at San Francisco criteria and received loco-regional therapy as down-staging therapy had significant inferior outcomes to other groups for both recurrence-free survival(RFS,P < 0.0005) and overall survival(P= 0.046).Moreover,patients with defined profound tumor necrosis(TN) by locoregional therapy had a superior RFS(5-year of 93.8%) as compared with others(P= 0.010).CONCLUSION LDLT features a flexible timely transplantation for patient with HCC.However,the loco-regional therapy prior to LDLT does not seem to provide benefit unless a certain effect in terms of profound TN is noted.展开更多
文摘Anatomic location/size and number of lesions,inadequate volume of future liver remnant,or poor coexisting premorbid conditions preclude surgery in the majority of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC).Liver transplantation can cure some patients with poor liver function,but few patients are eligible because of scarcity of donors.Without specific anti-cancer treatment,the prognosis of HCC is poor.Various locoregional therapies are used to treat patients who are not candidates for surgery,and have emerged as tools for palliation,tumor downstaging,and bridging therapy prior to liver transplantation.Currently,local ablative therapy even competes with partial hepatectomy and liver transplantation as a primary treatment for small HCC.HCC is well suited to treatment with loco-regional therapy because it has a tendency to stay within the liver,with distant metastasis generally occurring late in the course of disease.This suggests that an effective local-regional therapy can have a great impact on HCC patients who are not candidates for surgical treatment.Loco-regional therapy can further be justified because patients with HCC usually die of liver failure consequent to intrahepatic growth resulting in liver tissue destruction,rather than extrahepatic metastases.
文摘Loco-regional treatments for hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) are important alternatives to curative transplantation or resection.Among them,radiofrequency ablation(RFA) is accepted as the most popular technique showing excellent local tumor control and acceptable morbidity.The current role of RFA is well documented in the evidence-based practice guidelines of European Association of Study of Liver,American Association of Study of the Liver Disease and Japanese academic societies.Several randomized controlled trials have confirmed that RFA is superior to percutaneous ethanol injections in terms of local tumor control and survival.The overall survival after RFA is comparable to after surgical resection in a selected group of patients with smaller(< 3 cm) tumors.Currently,the clinical benefits of combined RFA with transarterial chemoembolization for intermediate stage HCC are increasingly being explored.Here we review the ongoing technical advancements of RFA and future potential.
文摘Hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) is a common, increasingly prevalent malignancy. For all but the smallest lesions, surgical removal of cancer via resection or liver transplantation(LT) is considered the most feasible pathway to cure. Resection- even with favorable survival- is associated with a fairly high rate of recurrence, perhaps since most HCCs occur in the setting of cirrhosis. LT offers the advantage of removing not only the cancer but the diseased liver from which the cancer has arisen, and LT outperforms resection for survival with selected patients. Since time waiting for LT is time during which HCC can progress, locoregional therapy(LRT) is widely employed by transplant centers. The purpose of LRT is either to bridge patients to LT by preventing progression and waitlist dropout, or to downstage patients who slightly exceed standard eligibility criteria initially but can fall within it after treatment. Transarterial chemoembolization and radiofrequency ablation have been the most widely utilized LRTs to date, with favorable efficacy and safety as a bridge to LT(and for the former, as a downstaging modality). The list of potentially effective LRTs has expanded in recent years, and includes transarterial chemoembolization with drug-eluting beads, radioembolization and novel forms of extracorporal therapy. Herein we appraise the various LRT modalities for HCC, and their potential roles in specific clinical scenarios in patients awaiting LT.
文摘BACKGROUND: The number of loco-regional therapies (LRTs) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has increased dramatically during the past decade. Many patients with HCC who were beyond the Milan criteria were allowed to receive a liver transplantation (LT) once the HCC was successfully down-staged. This retrospective study aimed to analyze the outcomes of LRTs prior to LT in patients with HCC beyond the Milan criteria. METHODS: We analyzed 56 patients treated from June 2006 to March 2010: 22 met the Milan criteria (T1+T2, 39.3%), 16 had T3 tumors (28.6%), and 11 had T4a tumors (19.6%), while 7 were suspected of tumor vascular invasion (T4b, 12.5%). All patients underwent preoperative LRTs, including transcatheter arterial chemoembolization, radiofrequency ablation, percutaneous ethanol injection, liver resection, and/or microwave coagulation therapy. The number of the patients who were successfully down-staged before LT, the types of LRTs used before LT, and their outcomes after LT were recorded. RESULTS: Eleven patients had necrotic tumors (pT0, 19.6%); 6 had pT1 tumors (10.7%), 22 had pT2 tumors (39.3%), 6 had pT3 tumors (10.7%), 5 had pT4a tumors (8.9%), and 6 had pT4b tumors (10.7%). The histopathologic tumors of 39 patients (69.6%) were down-staged and met the established Milan criteria (pT0-2). Imaging-proven under-staging was present in 5 HCC patients (8.9%) who had tumors involving the intrahepatic venous system. Twenty-three patients (41.1%) had stable HCC and 10 (17.9%) died. The 1-, 3- and 4-year survival rates were 96%, 73% and 61%, respectively, with a mean survival time of 22.29±1.63 months. Six patients died of tumorrecurrence. The 1-, 3- and 4-year recurrence-free survival (RFS) rates were 88%, 75% and 66%, respectively. The 3-year RFS of patients with pT0-2 tumors was 82%, which was markedly greater than that of patients with pT3 tumors (63%, P=0.018) or pT4 tumors (17%, P=0.000). Although the 3-year RFS of patients with pT3 tumors was greater than that of patients with pT4 tumors, the difference w
文摘BACKGROUND Loco-regional therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) during the period awaiting liver transplantation(LT) appears to be a logical approach to reduce the risk of tumor progression and dropout in the waitlist.Living donor LT(LDLT)offers a flexible timing for transplantation providing timeframe for well preparation of transplantation.AIM To investigate outcomes in relation to the intention of pre-transplantation locoregional therapy in LDLT for HCC patients.METHODS A total of 308 consecutive patients undergoing LDLTs for HCC between August2004 and December 2018 were retrospectively analyzed.Patients were grouped according to the intention of loco-regional therapy prior to LT,and outcomes of patients were analyzed and compared between groups.RESULTS Overall,38 patients(12.3%) were detected with HCC recurrence during the follow-up period after LDLT.Patients who were radiologically beyond the University of California at San Francisco criteria and received loco-regional therapy as down-staging therapy had significant inferior outcomes to other groups for both recurrence-free survival(RFS,P < 0.0005) and overall survival(P= 0.046).Moreover,patients with defined profound tumor necrosis(TN) by locoregional therapy had a superior RFS(5-year of 93.8%) as compared with others(P= 0.010).CONCLUSION LDLT features a flexible timely transplantation for patient with HCC.However,the loco-regional therapy prior to LDLT does not seem to provide benefit unless a certain effect in terms of profound TN is noted.
