Most hepatocellular carcinoma patients could not benefit from or experience disease recurrence after curative treatments. In 2007 sorafenib demonstrated efficacy in first line treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. After a decade of negative trials, in early 2019 we now have another tyrosine kinase inhibitor available in first line, lenvatinib, three other targeted therapies in second line post-sorafenib (regorafenib, cabozantinib and ramucirumab) and promising data from two immunotherapies (nivolumab and pembrolizumab). Unfortunately, no biomarkers have been identified to help guide our choice. In this short review we summarize the results of these different therapies and propose a therapeutic algorithm based on subgroup analysis. It is most likely that we will not have head-to-head comparisons in second line trials.
[This corrects the article DOI: 10.2217/hep-2017-0017.].
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the major causes of cancer-related mortality and is particularly refractory to the available chemotherapeutic drugs. Among various etiologies of HCC, viral etiology is the most common, and, along with alcoholic liver disease and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, accounts for almost 90% of all HCC cases. HCC is a heterogeneous tumor associated with multiple signaling pathway alterations and its complex patho-physiology has made the treatment decision challenging. The potential curative treatment options are effective only in small group of patients, while palliative treatments are associated with improved survival and quality of life for intermediate/advanced stage HCC patients. This review article focuses on the currently available treatment strategies and hurdles encountered for HCC therapy. The curative treatment options discussed are surgical resection, liver transplantation, and local ablative therapies which are effective for early stage HCC patients. The palliative treatment options discussed are embolizing therapies, systemic therapies, and molecular targeted therapies. Besides, the review also focuses on hurdles to be conquered for successful treatment of HCC and specifies the future prospects for HCC treatment. It also discusses the multi-modal approach for HCC management which maximizes the chances of better clinical outcome after treatment and identifies that selection of a particular treatment regimen based on patients' disease stage, patients' ages, and other underlying factors will certainly lead to a better prognosis.
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the sixth most common type of malignancy. Several therapies are available for HCC and are determined by stage of presentation, patient clinical status and liver function. Local-regional treatment options, including transcatheter arterial chemoembolization, radiofrequency ablation or microwave ablation, are safe and effective for HCC but are accompanied by limitations. The synergistic effects of combined transcatheter arterial chemoembolization and radiofrequency ablation/microwave ablation may overcome these limitations and improve the therapeutic outcome. The purpose of this article is to review the current literature on these combined therapies and examine their efficacy, safety and influence on the overall and recurrence-free survival in patients with HCC.
The hormone secretion in pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (pNET) causes an important interference in patients' quality of life. We present two cases of pNET metastatic to the liver (a pancreatic endocrine carcinoma with a severe hormonal syndrome and an insulinoma with severe crisis of hypoglycemia and coma) refractory to conventional treatments, which were finally solved with selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT), a nonstandard level 1 therapy. We show two examples of an excellent control of symptoms together with a long survival after treatment with SIRT. The evidence supporting the use of this therapy is level 2. Our case reports strongly support the use of SIRT for the severe clinical syndrome in pNET metastatic to the liver and refractory to somatostatin analogs.
Aim: Recent studies raise concerns for higher incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after direct-acting antiviral therapy for hepatitis C virus (HCV).
Methods: In this study, using analysis of liver imaging pre- and post-DAA treatment, we queried new occurrence or 'de novo' of HCC in patients with HCV-cirrhosis treated with DAAs. Of 150 patients who met study criteria, 7 (4.7%; 95% CI: 2.1-9.5%) patients developed de novo HCC which did not differ from historical rates of 3% (p = 0.22).
Results: Notably, patients with decompensated cirrhosis had significantly higher rate of de novo HCC (9.3%; 95% CI: 3.12-22.2%; p = 0.04).
Conclusion: Our data support the need for continued surveillance for HCC in HCV cirrhotics even after successful therapy.
The development of nucleos(t)ide analogs and direct antiviral agents has revolutionized the management of chronic infection with HBV and HCV, respectively. These regimens allow to expand treatment to virtually all infected, including those with poor hepatic reserve and those with severe comorbidities. As a result, permanent suppression of HBV and eradication of HCV has been achieved in almost all treated patients, resulting in substantial clinical benefits. In several cohorts, these successes have translated into a reduction of the incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma that was more frequently observed in patients with less advanced hepatitis, whereas liver cancer was more often associated with male gender, cirrhosis, alcohol abuse and diabetes.

