Most patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (CHC) are not candidates for surgical resection or liver transplantation because of their stage at the time of diagnosis. There are a series of locoregional treatments that achieve a high objective response rate in this group of patients. Percutaneous ablation is considered the best treatment option for CHC (BCLC stage 0/A) not amenable to surgical treatment. In multifocal hepatocellular carcinoma without vascular invasion or extrahepatic extension (BCLC stage B), the only treatment option that has been shown to improve survival in randomized controlled trials is chemoembolization. The evaluation of the effectiveness of these treatments is based on the reduction of viable tumor observed at CT, MRI, or contrast-enhanced US. In this article, we review the indications, technique, and therapeutic efficacy of the different locoregional treatments for CHC.
Copyright © 2009 SERAM. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.