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World J Gastroenterol. Dec 21, 2013; 19(47): 8808-8821
Published online Dec 21, 2013. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v19.i47.8808
Published online Dec 21, 2013. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v19.i47.8808
Surveillance for early diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma: How best to do it?
Edoardo G Giannini, Dipartimento di Medicina Interna, Unità di Gastroenterologia, Università di Genova, IRCCS-Azienda Ospedaliera San Martino-IST, 16155 Genova, Italy
Alessandro Cucchetti, Federica Odaldi, Dipartimento di Scienze Mediche Chirurgiche, Unità di Chirurgia Generale e dei Trapianti, 40138 Bologna, Italy
Virginia Erroi, Francesca Garuti, Franco Trevisani, Dipartimento di Scienze Mediche Chirurgiche, Unità di Semeiotica Medica, Alma Mater Studiorum-Università di Bologna, 40138 Bologna, Italy
Author contributions: Giannini EG, Trevisani F and Cucchetti A contributed to conception and design of the manuscript drafted the article and revised it; Erroi V, Garuti F and Odaldi F contributed to the final revision of the version to be published.
Correspondence to: Franco Trevisani, Professor, Dipartimento di Scienze Mediche Chirurgiche, Unità di Semeiotica Medica, Alma Mater Studiorum-Università di Bologna, via Albertoni, 15, 40138 Bologna, Italy. franco.trevisani@unibo.it
Telephone: +39-51-6362923 Fax: +39-51-6362930
Received: September 30, 2013
Revised: October 31, 2013
Accepted: November 18, 2013
Published online: December 21, 2013
Revised: October 31, 2013
Accepted: November 18, 2013
Published online: December 21, 2013
Core Tip
Core tip: This article deals with the role of surveillance for early diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma in patients at risk. It addresses several topics on this issue, including how to best perform surveillance (tools and interval), its results in terms of cancer stage, patient survival, cost-effectiveness, pitfalls and actual under-(mis-)use.