New Treatments Improve Hepatocellular Carcinoma Survival

Research reported in the latest Clinical Gastroenterology & Hepatology suggests that the therapeutic interventions for hepatocellular carcinoma improve prognosis.

Hepatocellular carcinoma is one of the most common cancers worldwide.

Therapeutic approaches for hepatocellular carcinoma have progressed rapidly.

However, it remains unknown whether the current management of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma has reduced its mortality.

Dr Naota Taura and colleagues from Japan analyzed changes of survival rate in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma over a 20-year period.

Surgical resection had a better prognosis during the latter than the early period -- Clinical Gastroenterology & Hepatology

Between 1982 and 2001, 463 patients were diagnosed with hepatocellular at the team's hospital.

The team enrolled 257 subjects in this cohort according to inclusion criteria, and were categorized into 5-year intervals

The patients had hepatocellular carcinoma lesion measuring less than 3 cm in diameter, no evidence of extrahepatic metastasis, and no evidence of main portal vein infiltration/thrombosis.

The researchers found survival rates improved significantly during the study period.

When the patients were stratified according to Child-Pugh score, only patients with Child's B showed improved survival rates.

Furthermore, the team noted that patients with surgical resection or transarterial chemoembolization during the latter period had a better prognosis than during the early period.

Dr Taura's team concludes, “Our findings suggest that the development of therapeutic interventions for hepatocellular carcinoma have led to improvements in the prognosis for hepatocellular carcinoma patients.”

Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol 2006: 4(9): 1177-83

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