J Liver Cancer.  2016 Sep;16(2):69-81. 10.17998/jlc.2016.16.2.69.

Locoregional Treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma with Portal Vein Tumor Thrombosis

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Internal Medicine, Dongnam Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences, Busan, Korea. mongmani@hanmail.net
  • 2Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Dongnam Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences, Busan, Korea.
  • 3Department of Radiation Oncology, Dongnam Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences, Busan, Korea.
  • 4Department of Radiology and Radiologic Science, Dongnam Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences, Busan, Korea.

Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients with portal vein tumor thrombosis (PVTT) have a extremely poor prognosis. According to the Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer guideline, sorafenib is a standard therapy in this situation, but many clinicians still select locoregional therapy (LRT) such as transarterial therapy, external beam radiation therapy (EBRT), even surgical resection (SR) or combination of LRTs because the survival improvement by sorafenib is unsatisfactory. Based on recent meta-analysis and prospective study, transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) and transarterial radioembolization seem to be effective and safe therapeutic option that have comparable outcome to sorafenib. Recently large nationwide studies demonstrated that SR can be a potentially curative treatment in selected patients. Hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy (HAIC) can be also good option, especially in Child class B patients based on small volume prospective studies. Moreover, multidisciplinary strategies based on the combination of LRTs (SR plus TACE, TACE + EBRT, TACE + Sorafenib, HAIC + EBRT etc.) may improve survival of HCC patients with PVTT. Finally we discuss individualized and tailored treatment strategies for different clinical situations.

Keyword

Hepatocellular carcinoma; Portal vein tumor thrombosis; Locoregional treatment; Sorafenib

MeSH Terms

Carcinoma, Hepatocellular*
Child
Drug Therapy
Humans
Liver Neoplasms
Portal Vein*
Prognosis
Prospective Studies
Thrombosis*
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