Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Current Practice and New Frontiers

Ron C. Gaba, MD

R. Peter Lokken, MD, MPH.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is an often-devastating disease that now comprises over 780,000 new diagnoses and 750,000 annual deaths, accounting for more than 9% of yearly cancer mortality. With the growing incidence of chronic liver disease—particularly nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, a condition that affects 6 to 35% of the global population and reflects the growing worldwide obesity epidemic—HCC is expected to become the third leading cause of worldwide cancer death by 2030. Moreover, despite advances in HCC diagnosis and therapy, the prognosis for HCC patients remains poor; 5-year survival is less than 15%, and fewer than half of HCC cases are diagnosed in early stages. These staggering data highlight the urgent need for new concepts, approaches, and methods to tackle this lethal disease. In crafting this issue of Digestive Disease Interventions, we have chosen to focus on unique topics about the diagnosis, characterization, and treatment of HCC, with attention to best practices and the most promising frontiers. It is our hope that reviews covering emerging chronic liver diseases, cancer genomics, advanced noninvasive imaging characterization, translational research, and preclinical animal models, minimally invasive and targeted therapies, and the value brought by integrated multidisciplinary teams will provide readers with a glimpse into emerging management strategies for HCC.