Evaluating treatment response following locoregional therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma: A review of the available serological and radiological tools for assessment

Abstract

Abstract Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is an aggressive primary malignancy of the liver and is the third most common cause of cancer‐related global mortality. There has been a steady increase in treatment options for HCC in recent years, including innovations in both curative and non‐curative therapies. These advances have brought new challenges and necessary improvements in strategies of disease monitoring, to allow early detection of HCC recurrence. Current serological and radiological strategies for post‐treatment monitoring and prognostication and their limitations will be discussed and evaluated in this review.

Keywords

• alpha‐fetoprotein
• des‐γ‐carboxyprothrombin
• hepatocellular carcinoma
• lens culinaris agglutinin‐A‐reactive α‐fetoprotein
• loco‐regional therapy
• microwave ablation