Adjuvant therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma after curative treatment

Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common malignancy in the world. Although resection and various locoregional therapies can achieve eradication or complete ablation of small HCC, HCC recurrence after these therapies is still common. Although candidates for medical ablation usually exhibit compensated hepatic functional status, the frequent recurrence of HCC after successful ablation contributes to short survival. Therefore, attempts to prevent HCC recurrence are essential to prolong survival. Efforts in preventing HCC recurrence after curative therapies include prevention of early recurrence by improving liver immunity and eliminating microscopic tumor foci or micrometastases, and prevention of late recurrence by reducing the hepatitis activity and using antiviral therapies based on viral suppression/eradication. In HCC with vascular invasion, adjuvant transcatheter arterial chemoembolization should be considered to provide better control. Whether the adjuvant use of sorafenib may suppress microscopic tumor foci or micrometastases may be unveiled in the near future. This review article will update the algorithms, novel medication or study drugs in the prevention of HCC after curative therapies.