Radiation Therapy for Hepatocellular Carcinoma

摘要

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), accounting for at least 16,000 deaths yearly, is the sixth leading cause of cancer mortality in men in the United States and is one of the few cancers with an increase in frequency and mortality nationwide. What makes treatment more challenging is the fact that the choice and success of treatment is determined not only by the characteristics of the tumor but also by the state of the diseased cirrhotic liver that harbors the tumor and often other premalignant foci. This treatment challenge is further compounded by the lack of routine screening studies in the Western world, the advanced stage at presentation, and/or the medical comorbidities that arise from the underlying cirrhosis.