Systemic therapy alters the landscape of surgery in hepatocellular carcinoma： opportunities and challenges

Abstract

Surgery is still the first choice for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC). However, about 70% of HCC patients in China are first diagnosed in the advanced stage and have lost the opportunity for surgery. Recently, the rapid development of systematic therapy has brought new hope for patients with advanced HCC. The combination of molecular targeted therapy and immunotherapy with or without local therapy significantly improves the survival of advanced HCC and alters the landscape of surgical treatment in advanced HCC. In addition, systemic therapy also brings new opportunities for perioperative treatment of HCC patients. Conversion therapy, neoadjuvant therapy, and postoperative adjuvant therapy can increase the chances of surgical treatment, reduce the risk of postoperative metastasis and recurrence, and prolong the overall survival of HCC patients. Systematic therapy based on molecular targeted therapy and immunotherapy has been applied through the whole process of HCC surgical treatment, and has completely altered the surgery paradigm of HCC. However, further research is needed to determine the optimal combination protocol, screen the sensitive populations, address drug resistance, and reduce systemic adverse events.

Keywords

• |hepatocellular carcinoma(hcc)|systemic therapy|conversion therapy|neoadjuvant therapy|adjuvant therapy