Radiation therapy for primary hepatocellular carcinoma:current status and prospect
ZENG Zhao-chong
Abstract：Image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT) uses imaging techniques throughout the course of radiation therapy (RT) to accurately identify,pinpoint and monitor the changes of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). IGRT increases the probability of tumor control and typically results in shorter radiation therapy schedules. RT has great potential in a wide spectrum of primary HCC. IGRT could be used as alternation therapy for small HCC who are unsuitable for surgical resection or radiofrequency ablation (RFA), and maybe defined benefit in early stage HCC. Transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) combined with RT constitutes an improved therapeutic strategy for unresectable but confined intrahepatic HCC. RT can improve survival in HCC patients with portal vein (PV)/inferior vena cava (IVC) tumor thrombus. RT appears to be a viable treatment choice for multiple pulmonary metastases. Helical tomotherapy is optimal for unresectable HCC which usually presents with multiple lesions. IGRT for HCC has entered a new era even though there were only a limited number of high-level studies.
Keywords：primary hepatocellular carcinomaexternal radiotherapyinternal radiotherapystereotactic body radiation therapy
Publication Date：2014-01-01
Online Publishing Date：2025-08-15(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：4( 699-702 )