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Copyright ©The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Jan 7, 2015; 21(1): 94-101
Published online Jan 7, 2015. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v21.i1.94
Radiation therapy has been shown to be adaptable for various stages of hepatocellular carcinoma
Yasuteru Kondo, Osamu Kimura, Tooru Shimosegawa
Yasuteru Kondo, Osamu Kimura, Tooru Shimosegawa, Division of Gastroenterology, Tohoku University Hospital, Sendai 980-8574, Japan
Author contributions: All authors equally contributed to this paper.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Yasuteru Kondo, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Division of Gastroenterology, Tohoku University Hospital, 1-1 Seiryo, Aoba, Sendai 980-8574, Japan. yasuteru@ebony.plala.or.jp
Telephone: +81-22-7177171 Fax: +81-22-7177177
Received: April 11, 2014
Peer-review started: April 11, 2014
First decision: April 28, 2014
Revised: May 12, 2014
Accepted: June 26, 2014
Article in press: June 26, 2014
Published online: January 7, 2015
Abstract

In addition to surgical procedures, radiofrequency ablation is commonly used for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs) of limited size and number. Transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE), using iodized poppy seed oil, Lipiodol and anticancer drugs, has been actively performed for the treatment of unresectable HCC, particularly in Asian countries. Recently, Sorafenib become available for advanced HCCs when the liver is still sufficiently functional. Sorafenib is an oral multikinase inhibitor with antiproliferative and antiangiogenic effects. However, the effect of sorafenib seems to be inadequate to control the progression of HCC. Radiation therapy (RT) for HCC has a potential role across all stages of HCC. However, RT is generally not considered an option in HCC consensus documents or national guidelines, primarily because of insufficient supporting evidence. However, the method of RT has much improved because of advances in technology. Moreover, combined treatment of RT plus other treatments (TACE, sorafenib and chemotherapy etc.) has become one of the alternative therapies for HCC. Therefore, we should understand the various kinds of RT available for HCC. In this review, we focus on various kinds of external beam radiation therapy.

Keywords: Hepatocellular carcinoma, Radiofrequency ablation, Transcatheter arterial chemoembolization, Radiation therapy, Sorafenib

Core tip: Radiation therapy (RT) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has a potential role across all stages of HCC. However, RT is generally not considered an option in HCC consensus documents or national guidelines, primarily because of insufficient supporting evidence. However, the method of RT has much improved because of advances in technology. Therefore, we should understand the various kinds of RT available for HCC. In this review, we focus on various kinds of external beam radiation therapy.