Hepatic Oncology最新文献

Patients with liver disease have a risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but the risk varies between different diseases and is also different according to several other variables, such as age, type of underlying liver disease and severity of disease. Several risk scores have been developed to more adequately quantitate HCC risk in individual patients. Each risk score is applicable to a specific population (chronic hepatitis B or C, patients on the transplant list, cirrhosis in general, and so on). Most publications on risk scores do not provide clear guidance as to what level of measured risk is sufficient to trigger surveillance.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a significant cause of cancer-related morbidity and mortality. Chronic, heavy ethanol consumption is a major risk for developing the worsening liver pathologies that culminate in hepatic cirrhosis, the leading risk factor for developing HCC. A significant body of work reports the biochemical and pathological consequences of ethanol consumption and metabolism during hepatocarcinogeneis. The systemic effects of ethanol means organ system interactions are equally important in understanding the initiation and progression of HCC within the alcoholic liver. This review aims to summarize the effects of ethanol-ethanol metabolism during the pathogenesis of alcoholic liver disease, the progression toward HCC and the importance of ethanol as a comorbid factor for HCC development.

Gall bladder cancer (GBC), and intrahepatic and extrahepatic (perihilar or distal bile duct's) cholangiocarcinomas (CCA) are usually diagnosed in locally advanced or node-positive stage, with a short survival rate. Thus, it appears essential to explore novel strategies for improving disease downstage and radical surgery. Chemoradiotherapy followed by liver transplantation seems to be one of the most promising approaches for intrahepatic or perihilar disease while chemotherapy with novel radiotherapy techniques (such stereotactic body radiation) emerged as an attractive preoperative treatment in distal diseases. In this paper, we will review currently available knowledge about neoadjuvant treatment of biliary tract cancers (BTC) paying attention to challenges that make this type of management in clinical practice difficult.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) characterized by insidious onset is a highly invasive malignance and has a rapid progress. The majority of patients, especially in Asian countries, present with locally advanced or distant metastatic disease at diagnosis and are not eligible for local treatment. Before the publication of the EACH study results showing the survival benefits of the FOLFOX 4 regimen in Chinese patients with advanced HCC, no chemotherapeutical drug or regimen was considered as systemic chemotherapy standard for this group of patients due to the lack of evidence-based recommendations. Oxaliplatin-containing regimens have shown clinical activity against advanced HCC with an acceptable safety profile. The aim of this article is to present a review of the scientific evidence mainly originating from China that supports the recommendation of oxaliplatin-based regimens for the treatment of Chinese patients with advanced HCC.

Liver cancer is now ranked second in terms of cancer-related mortality worldwide; with limited treatment options for patients at advanced stages it remains a growing health problem. All Phase III clinical trials testing molecular therapies after sorafenib have so far failed, and there is still not a validated oncogene addiction loop. Despite the present huge challenges, advancements in the recent years have been remarkable. The Asia-Pacific Primary Liver Cancer Expert Meeting (APPLE) was designed to promote scientific exchanges of international and regional experts in the study and management of liver cancer. Over the years it has consolidated as a major resource to provide a thorough update to clinicians and researchers located in the Asia-Pacific region in different aspects of liver cancer. Attendance at these meetings is exceptional, with an average of 1000 attendees at each conference. As predicted, the 2015 edition provided an outstanding overview of the latest developments in the clinical management and molecular pathogenesis of the disease.