New horizons in ablation therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma

Abstract

Historically ablative treatment for hepatocellular cancer (HCC) has been regarded as inferior to transplantation and resection and has therefore been reserved for patients not suitable for surgical intervention in stage 0-A HCC according to the Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer classification system. In the wake of surgical strategies challenging the current Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer treatment guidelines and improvements in imaging, targeting and ablation technologies, ablation is likely to occupy a more central role in the management of patients with HCC, challenging its historically perceived inferiority to resection.

Keywords:

• ablation
• computer tomography
• fused ultrasound
• hepatocellular carcinoma
• interventional radiology
• irreversible electroporation
• laparoscopic
• microwave
• navigated ablation
• radiofrequency

Financial & competing interests disclosure

The authors are involved with ongoing EUROSTARS financed project ‘CAMILIS,’ developing a laparoscopic platform for navigated liver surgery, where CAScination AG (Bern, Switzerland) and SECTRA (Linköping, Sweden) are research partners. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

Additional information

Funding

The authors are involved with ongoing EUROSTARS financed project ‘CAMILIS,’ developing a laparoscopic platform for navigated liver surgery, where CAScination AG (Bern, Switzerland) and SECTRA (Linköping, Sweden) are research partners. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.