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World J Gastroenterol. Nov 21, 2014; 20(43): 15943-15954
Published online Nov 21, 2014. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v20.i43.15943
Published online Nov 21, 2014. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v20.i43.15943
Alcohol and hepatocellular carcinoma: A review and a point of view
Gianni Testino, Paolo Borro, Centro Alcologico Regionale-Regione Liguria, Alcoholic Unit, Department of General Internal and Specialist Medicine, IRCCS AOU San Martino-National Institute for Cancer Research-IST, 16100 Genova, Italy
Silvia Leone, Department of Internal Medicine, Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology Unit, University of Genoa, 16100 Genova, Italy
Author contributions: Testino G, Leone S and Borro P contributed equally to this work.
Correspondence to: Gianni Testino, MD, Centro Alcologico Regionale-Regione Liguria, Alcoholic Unit, Department of General Internal and Specialist Medicine, IRCCS AOU San Martino-National Institute for Cancer Research-IST, Padiglione 10, Piazzale R. Benzi 10, 16132 Genova, Italy. gianni.testino@hsanmartino.it
Telephone: +39-1-5552769 Fax: +39-1-5552738
Received: February 14, 2014
Revised: April 30, 2014
Accepted: July 22, 2014
Published online: November 21, 2014
Revised: April 30, 2014
Accepted: July 22, 2014
Published online: November 21, 2014
Core Tip
Core tip: It is well recognized that one cause of chronic liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is alcohol consumption. There is only one way of diagnosing HCC, which is early identification through surveillance, when curative treatments become possible. After stopping alcohol intake the risk of liver cancer decreases by 6% to 7% a year, and an estimated time period of 23 years is also needed. Ablation can be regarded as a first-line choice for patients with very early stage HCC. It is important to underline that the choice of treatment should be weighed carefully in the context of a multidisciplinary cancer team.