title: Embolization of liver tumors: Past, present and future.
abstract: Curative therapies for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), such as resection and liver transplantation, can only be applied in selected patients with early tumors. More advanced stages require local or systemic therapies. Resection of HCC offers the only hope for cure. Even in patients undergoing resection, recurrences are common. Chemoembolization, a technique combining intra-arterial chemotherapy with selective tumor ischemia, has been shown by randomized controlled trials to be efficacious in the palliative setting. There is now renewed interest in transarterial embolization/transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) with regards to its use as a palliative tool in a combined modality approach, as a neoadjuvant therapy, in bridging therapy before transplantation, for symptomatic indications, and even as an alternative to resection. There have also been rapid advances in the agents being embolized trans-arterially (genes, biological response modifiers, etc.). The current review provides an evidence-based overview of the past, present and future trends of TACE in patients with HCC.
authors.affiliation: Ashwin Rammohan, Jeswanth Sathyanesan, Anand Lakshmanan, Perumal Senthil-Kumar, Ulagendra Perumal Srinivasan, Ravi Ramasamy, Palaniappan Ravichandran, The Institute of Surgical Gastroenterology and Liver Transplantation, Centre for GI Bleed, Division of HPB Diseases, Stanley Medical College Hospital, Chennai 600001, India.
authors.forename: Ashwin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rammohan
authors.forename: Jeswanth
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sathyanesan
authors.forename: Sukumar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ramaswami
authors.forename: Anand
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lakshmanan
authors.forename: Perumal
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Senthil-Kumar
authors.forename: Ulagendra Perumal
authors.initials: UP
authors.lastname: Srinivasan
authors.forename: Ravi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ramasamy
authors.forename: Palaniappan
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ravichandran