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©2014 Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Hepatol. Dec 27, 2014; 6(12): 923-929
Published online Dec 27, 2014. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v6.i12.923
Published online Dec 27, 2014. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v6.i12.923
Palliative external-beam radiotherapy for bone metastases from hepatocellular carcinoma
Shinya Hayashi, Hidekazu Tanaka, Hiroaki Hoshi, Department of Radiology, Gifu University Hospital, Gifu 501-1194, Japan
Author contributions: Hayashi S collected the data, drafted the figures and wrote the manuscript; Tanaka H contributed to the writing of the manuscript; Hoshi H approved the final version to be published.
Correspondence to: Shinya Hayashi, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Radiology, Gifu University Hospital, Yanagido 1-1, Gifu 501-1194, Japan. shayashi@gifu-u.ac.jp
Telephone: +81-58-2306439 Fax: +81-58-2306440
Received: July 26, 2014
Revised: August 31, 2014
Accepted: October 14, 2014
Published online: December 27, 2014
Revised: August 31, 2014
Accepted: October 14, 2014
Published online: December 27, 2014
Core Tip
Core tip: Due to a lack of clinical data, external-beam radiotherapy (EBRT) for bone metastases (BMs) from hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is still not widely used as a palliative therapy component, and the optimal dosing schedule remains unclear. BMs from HCC typically occur as expansive, bulky soft-tissue masses; they exhibit expansive growth that compresses the peripheral nerves, spinal cord, or cranial nerves, causing both bone and neuropathic pain, and neurological symptoms. In this review, we outline the data describing palliative EBRT for BMs from HCC to treat bone pain, spinal compression, and skull base metastases.