Surgical therapy of hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) accounts for most primary malignancies of the liver. The most important risk factor is liver cirrhosis. HCC can be traced by the tumor marker alpha-fetoprotein. Patients with a known liver cirrhosis should regularly be screened, including sonography and alpha-fetoprotein evaluation. Surgical therapy - either partial liver resection or liver transplantation - is the only treatment that can potentially achieve long-term survival. The presence of liver cirrhosis is likely to induce postoperative liver insufficiency and is associated with higher local tumor recurrence rate. Patients without liver cirrhosis or Child-Pugh A patients with tumors smaller than 5 cm may be considered as the ideal target group for resection. For more advanced stages of cirrhosis and tumors of less than 5 cm up to 7 cm in size, liver transplantation offers a better prognosis. Long waiting time for a suitable organ negatively influences liver transplantation outcome. Living donor liver transplantation is a novel therapeutic option that improves posttransplant survival and extends the indication for transplantation in hepatocellular carcinoma.