Surgical spacer placement and proton radiotherapy for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma

World J Gastroenterol. 2010 Apr 14;16(14):1800-3. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v16.i14.1800.

Abstract

Few potentially curative treatment options exist apart from hepatic resection for patients with huge hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Proton radiotherapy is a promising new modality which has an inherent anti-tumor effect against HCC. However, the application of proton radiotherapy for tumors adjacent to the gastrointestinal tract is restricted because the tolerance dose of the intestine is extremely low. A novel two-step treatment was developed with surgical spacer placement and subsequent proton radiotherapy to administer proton radiotherapy with curative intent. This report presents a case of a patient with a huge unresectable HCC treated by this method who achieved disease-free survival of more than 2 years. This new strategy may potentially be an innovative and standard therapy for unresectable HCC in the near future.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / diagnostic imaging
  • Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / radiotherapy*
  • Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / surgery
  • Disease-Free Survival
  • Humans
  • Liver Neoplasms / diagnostic imaging
  • Liver Neoplasms / radiotherapy*
  • Liver Neoplasms / surgery
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Polytetrafluoroethylene
  • Proton Therapy*
  • Surgical Mesh
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Substances

  • Polytetrafluoroethylene