Measures for response assessment in HCC treatment

Abstract

The evolving treatment landscape of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) includes curative treatments such as ablation, resection, and transplantation, along with palliative interventions such as locoregional and systemic therapies. Evaluating the response to therapy is critical to planning the next intervention or follow-up needed, as well as for comparing the outcomes across the treatment options. Response to therapy can be measured using serum markers, through pathology, using imaging surrogates, and clinical response. This review provides a brief overview of these measures of treatment response and their relevance to HCC management.