Editorial
Copyright ©2008 The WJG Press and Baishideng. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Jun 14, 2008; 14(22): 3452-3460
Published online Jun 14, 2008. doi: 10.3748/wjg.14.3452
Selection criteria for liver resection in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and chronic liver disease
Spiros G Delis, Christos Dervenis
Spiros G Delis, Christos Dervenis, 1st Surgical Clinic, Liver Surgical Unit, Kostantopouleio-Agia Olga Hospital, Athens 14233, Greece
Author contributions: Delis SG and Dervenis C contributed equally to this work; they both designed and performed the research; Delis SG wrote the paper and Dervenis C reviewed and revised the paper before submission.
Correspondence to: Spiros G Delis, MD, PhD, Liver Unit, 1st Surgical Clinic, Kostantopouleio-Agia Olga Hospital, 3-5 Agias Olgas street, Athens 14233, Greece. sdelis55@hotmail.com
Telephone: +3-210-5012849
Fax: +3-210-5012849
Received: February 15, 2008
Revised: April 12, 2008
Accepted: April 19, 2008
Published online: June 14, 2008
Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignancies worldwide with an annual occurrence of one million new cases. An etiologic association between HBV infection and the development of HCC has been established with a relative risk 200-fold greater than in non-infected individuals. Hepatitis C virus is also proving an important predisposing factor for this malignancy with an incidence rate of 7% at 5 years and 14% at 10 years. The prognosis depends on tumor stage and degree of liver function, which affect the tolerance to invasive treatments. Although surgical resection is generally accepted as the treatment of choice for HCC, new treatment strategies, such as local ablative therapies, transarterial embolization and liver transplantation, have been developed nowadays. With increasing detection of small HCCs from screening programs for cirrhotic patients, it is foreseen that locoregional therapy will play an important role in the near future.

Keywords: Hepatocellular carcinoma; Hepatoma; Resection; Ablation; Transplantation; ICG clearance; Remnant liver volume; Milan criteria; MELD score