Diagnosis and Treatment of Hepatoblastoma: An Update

Abstract

Hepatoblastoma is a rare but the most common solid tumor in children. The incidence is gradually increasing. The international collaboration among four centers in the world has greatly improved the prognosis of hepatoblastoma. They formed the Children’s Hepatic Tumor International Collaboration (CHIC) to standardize the staging system (2017 PRETEXT system) and the risk factors for tumor stratification. Multimodal therapy has become the standard for the management of hepatoblastoma, including surgical resection, liver transplantation, chemotherapy, and so on. Surgery is the primary treatment of early stage hepatoblastoma. Three-dimensional reconstruction is helpful for preoperative evaluation of large tumors, assisting extended hepatectomy for patients in PRETEXT III or IV. Neoadjuvant therapy is useful for reducing the tumor volume and increasing the resectability. Primary liver transplantation is recommended for advanced hepatoblastoma. The lungs are the most common metastatic organ, the treatment of which is critical for the patient’s long-term survival. We reviewed the recent progress in the diagnosis and treatment of hepatoblastoma.