title: An emerging role for radiation therapy in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.
abstract: Radiation therapy is emerging as a potentially effective treatment of locally advanced, unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Outcomes from early prospective studies seem promising, with improved survival compared with historical controls. Cure of early stage and unresectable HCC may be possible with high-quality radiation therapy. Many questions remain, including determination of the ideal radiation dose and fractionation schema, optimal patient selection criteria based on tumor size, tumor location, extent of vascular invasion, and baseline liver function, and the role of radiation therapy compared with other localized standard treatments including radiofrequency ablation or transarterial chemoembolization.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital, 100 Blossom Street, Cox 3, Boston, MA 02114, USA. Electronic address: jwo@partners.org.
authors.forename: Jennifer Y
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Wo
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, 610 University Avenue, Toronto, ON M5G 2M9, Canada.
authors.forename: Laura A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Dawson
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital, 55 Fruit Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
authors.forename: Andrew X
authors.initials: AX
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital, 100 Blossom Street, Cox 3, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
authors.forename: Theodore S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Hong
mesh_terms: D001650:Bile Duct Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy* / Q000601:surgery; D001653:Bile Ducts, Intrahepatic / Q000601:surgery; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000532:radiotherapy* / Q000601:surgery; D018281:Cholangiocarcinoma / Q000532:radiotherapy* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy* / Q000601:surgery; D016634:Radiosurgery; D011878:Radiotherapy / Q000379:methods
keywords: Hepatobiliary cancers; Radiation therapy; Stereotactic body radiation therapy