An excerpt from 2023 International Liver Cancer Association ( ILCA) white paper on hepatocellular carcinoma risk stratification and surveillance
10.3760/cma.j.cn311367-20240111-00017
- VernacularTitle:《2023国际肝癌协会肝细胞癌风险分层和监测白皮书》摘译
- Author:
Wei DAI
1
;
Guohong HAN
Author Information
1. 西安国际医学中心医院消化内科，西安 710100
- Keywords:
Carcinoma, hepatocellular;
Surveillance;
Risk stratification;
Screening;
Biomarkers
- From:
Chinese Journal of Digestion
2024;44(4):217-222
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Major research efforts in liver cancer have been devoted to increasing the efficacy and effectiveness of surveillance for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). As with other cancers, surveillance programmes aim to detect tumors at an early stage, facilitate curative-intent treatment, and reduce cancer-related mortality. HCC surveillance is supported by a large randomized controlled trial in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection and several cohort studies in cirrhosis; however, effectiveness in clinical practice is limited by several barriers, including inadequate risk stratification, underuse of surveillance, and suboptimal accuracy of screening tests. There are several proposed strategies to address these limitations, including risk stratification algorithms and biomarkers to better identity at-risk individuals, interventions to increase surveillance, and emerging imaging- and blood-based surveillance tests with improved sensitivity and specificity for early HCC detection. Beyond clinical validation, data are needed to establish clinical utility, i. e. increased early tumor detection and reduced HCC-related mortality. If successful, these data could facilitate a precision screening paradigm in which surveillance strategies are tailored to individual HCC risk to maximise overall surveillance value. However, practical and logistical considerations must be considered when designing and implementing these validation efforts.To address these issues, the International Liver Cancer Association (ILCA) adjourned a single topic workshop on HCC risk stratification and surveillance in June 2022. Herein, we present a white paper on these topics, including the status of the field, ongoing research efforts, and barriers to the translation of emerging strategies.
