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. 2023 Apr 5;12(5):405-444.
doi: 10.1159/000530495. eCollection 2023 Oct.

Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Primary Liver Cancer (2022 Edition)

Jian Zhou  1 Huichuan Sun  1 Zheng Wang  1 Wenming Cong  2 Mengsu Zeng  3 Weiping Zhou  4 Ping Bie  5 Lianxin Liu  6 Tianfu Wen  7 Ming Kuang  8 Guohong Han  9 Zhiping Yan  10 Maoqiang Wang  11 Ruibao Liu  12 Ligong Lu  13 Zhenggang Ren  1 Zhaochong Zeng  14 Ping Liang  15 Changhong Liang  16 Min Chen  17 Fuhua Yan  18 Wenping Wang  19 Jinlin Hou  20 Yuan Ji  21 Jingping Yun  22 Xueli Bai  23 Dingfang Cai  24 Weixia Chen  25 Yongjun Chen  26 Wenwu Cheng  27 Shuqun Cheng  4 Chaoliu Dai  28 Wengzhi Guo  29 Yabing Guo  30 Baojin Hua  31 Xiaowu Huang  1 Weidong Jia  32 Qiu Li  33 Tao Li  34 Xun Li  35 Yaming Li  36 Yexiong Li  37 Jun Liang  38 Changquan Ling  39 Tianshu Liu  40 Xiufeng Liu  41 Shichun Lu  42 Guoyue Lv  43 Yilei Mao  44 Zhiqiang Meng  45 Tao Peng  46 Weixin Ren  47 Hongcheng Shi  48 Guoming Shi  1 Ming Shi  8 Tianqiang Song  49 Kaishan Tao  50 Jianhua Wang  10 Kui Wang  4 Lu Wang  51 Wentao Wang  7 Xiaoying Wang  1 Zhiming Wang  52 Bangde Xiang  53 Baocai Xing  54 Jianming Xu  55 Jiamei Yang  4 Jianyong Yang  56 Yefa Yang  57 Yunke Yang  24 Shenglong Ye  1 Zhenyu Yin  58 Yong Zeng  7 Bixiang Zhang  59 Boheng Zhang  1 Leida Zhang  60 Shuijun Zhang  61 Ti Zhang  51 Yanqiao Zhang  62 Ming Zhao  63 Yongfu Zhao  61 Honggang Zheng  64 Ledu Zhou  65 Jiye Zhu  66 Kangshun Zhu  67 Rong Liu  10 Yinghong Shi  1 Yongsheng Xiao  1 Lan Zhang  1 Chun Yang  3 Zhifeng Wu  14 Zhi Dai  1 Minshan Chen  8 Jianqiang Cai  68 Weilin Wang  69 Xiujun Cai  23 Qiang Li  49 Feng Shen  4 Shukui Qin  41 Gaojun Teng  70 Jiahong Dong  71 Jia Fan  1
Affiliations

Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Primary Liver Cancer (2022 Edition)

Jian Zhou et al. Liver Cancer. .

Abstract

Background: Primary liver cancer, of which around 75-85% is hepatocellular carcinoma in China, is the fourth most common malignancy and the second leading cause of tumor-related death, thereby posing a significant threat to the life and health of the Chinese people.

Summary: Since the publication of Guidelines for Diagnosis and Treatment of Primary Liver Cancer in China in June 2017, which were updated by the National Health Commission in December 2019, additional high-quality evidence has emerged from researchers worldwide regarding the diagnosis, staging, and treatment of liver cancer, that requires the guidelines to be updated again. The new edition (2022 Edition) was written by more than 100 experts in the field of liver cancer in China, which not only reflects the real-world situation in China but also may reshape the nationwide diagnosis and treatment of liver cancer.

Key messages: The new guideline aims to encourage the implementation of evidence-based practice and improve the national average 5-year survival rate for patients with liver cancer, as proposed in the "Health China 2030 Blueprint."

Keywords: China; Diagnosis; Guidelines; Hepatocellular carcinoma; Primary liver cancer; Treatment.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Schematic diagram of the recommended baseline specimen sampling protocol for liver tumors. A, B, C, and D indicators denote the 12, 3, 6, and 9 o’clock positions, respectively, along the boundary between cancer and adjacent non-neoplastic liver tissue; E: tumor area; F: proximal non-neoplastic adjacent liver tissue; G: distal non-neoplastic adjacent liver tissue.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Pathway for the diagnosis of HCC. Typical presentation: significant enhancement of the lesion in the arterial phase (late major arterial phase), with decreased enhancement in the portal venous and/or delayed phases, in a “wash-in, wash-out” pattern. Atypical presentation: lack of lesion enhancement in the arterial phase or no or insignificant decrease in the enhancement during the portal venous and delayed phases, or even a slight increase in enhancement, etc. US, ultrasonography; MRI, multiparametric MRI; CT, dynamic contrast-enhanced CT scan; CEUS, contrast-enhanced ultrasonography, which uses ultrasound contrast to visualize the real-time blood perfusion in normal and diseased tissues. EOB-MRI: MRI scan enhanced with hepatocyte-specific contrast agent gadolinium ethoxybenzyl-diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (Gd-EOB-DTPA). AFP (+): serum AFP test exceeding normal value.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 3.
Clinical staging and treatment pathway for HCC in China. Systemic antitumor therapy includes first-line and second-line therapy. First-line therapy: atezolizumab + bevacizumab, sintilimab + biosimilar of bevacizumab (BYVASDA®); donafenib, lenvatinib, sorafenib; FOLFOX4. Second-line therapy: regorafenib, apatinib, camrelizumab, tislelizumab

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