Interventional Radiology in Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Current Status and Looking Ahead

Abstract

AbstractHepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common cancers worldwide and its incidence is on the rise. Although transplantation and surgical resection remain the definitive curative treatment options, only a minority of patients are eligible for these owing to advanced stage of disease at diagnosis. Over the last two decades, various interventional radiology (IR) therapies such as ablative and transarterial therapies, have come to the forefront of HCC management. IR also plays a role in preoperative management of HCC patients with procedures such as portal vein embolization. The recently updated Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) staging system for HCC provides a guideline for choosing the optimum treatment modality for individual patients, with IR playing a central role. This review summarizes the different IR treatment options in HCC, including various ablative therapies, Transarterial Chemoembolization (TACE), Transarterial Radioembolization (TARE), Portal Vein embolization, emphasizing patient selection, procedural considerations and response evaluation.