| Theme |
The New Guideline for Liver Cancer Treatment |
| Title |
Post-Treatment Surveillance, Prevention and Treatment of Recurrence for Hepatocellular Carcinoma |
| Author |
Etsuro Hatano |
Department of Surgery, Hyogo College of Medicine |
| Author |
Ikuo Nakamura |
Department of Surgery, Hyogo College of Medicine |
| [ Summary ] |
The high recurrence rate of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), even after curative therapy, is a widely known yet unresolved problem. After liver resection or percutaneous ablation, strict follow-up is recommended with the concomitant performance of tumor marker analysis and imaging tests. Follow-up should be conducted according to surveillance methods used in extremely high-risk cases at the time of onset. In patients with hepatitis-associated HCC, anti-viral therapy after liver resection and percutaneous ablation may inhibit recurrence and improve survival rates. When treating recurrence after curative treatment, a treatment plan should be designed on the basis of the same criteria applied for treating HCC at the time of initial onset. Resection of recurrent lesions after liver transplantation may be considered when possible. |