title: Hepatocellular carcinoma: a comprehensive overview of surgical therapy.
abstract: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignancies worldwide, with a rising incidence in the United States. The increase in medical and locally ablative therapies have improved prognosis, however surgery, either liver resection or transplantation, remains the mainstay of therapy. An increased understanding of liver anatomy, improved imaging modalities and refinements of surgical technique have all led to improved outcomes after surgery. Both resection and transplantation may be used in a complementary manner. Resection remains the treatment of choice for HCC when feasible. Liver transplantation, which removes both the tumor and the underlying diseased liver offers excellent outcomes in patients that meet the Milan criteria. While both these modalities have relatively well defined roles, the treatment of these patients must be tailored individually, using a multidisciplinary approach, to maximize survival, quality of life and allocation of scarce organs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut.
authors.forename: Annabelle L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Fonseca
authors.forename: Charles H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Cha
mesh_terms: D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D003657:Decision Making; D006498:Hepatectomy; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D016031:Liver Transplantation; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D018579:Patient Selection; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
keywords: hepatocellular carcinoma; liver resection in carcinoma; liver transplantation