Conversion therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma: Strategies and methods / 临床肝胆病杂志

ABSTRACT

Surgery is the most important radical treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but less than 30% of HCC patients have the chance for radical surgery at initial diagnosis. How to transform unresectable tumor into the candidate of radical resection becomes an important way to improve the survival rate of HCC and has been a research hotspot in recent years. At present, comprehensive application of the therapies including hepatic artery catheterization, radiotherapy, and targeted therapy can achieve the downstaging of HCC, or portal vein embolization, liver partition, and portal vein ligation can rapidly increase residual liver volume; all these methods can realize successful conversion and help patients obtain the opportunity for radical resection. However, further exploration and studies are needed to investigate how to optimize a variety of treatment modes, standardize the multidisciplinary diagnosis and treatment of complex liver cancer, and improve the efficiency and safety of surgical resection.