Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
8.8
4.4
Journals
Cancers
Special Issues
Surgical Treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma
share announcement

Surgical Treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

A special issue of Cancers (ISSN 2072-6694). This special issue belongs to the section "Clinical Research of Cancer".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2025 | Viewed by 3669

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Wei-Chen Lee

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of General Surgery and Chang Gung Transplantation Institute, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Taoyuan 33302, Taiwan
Interests: liver surgery; liver transplantation; tumor immunology; dendritic cell immunotherapy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues, 

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary malignancy in the liver. Surgical treatment remains the most important treatment for HCC. Traditionally, surgical treatment is limited to treating the early stages of HCC. However, most cases of HCC are found at the late stages. Whether surgical treatment has a role in the treatment of HCC beyond the early stage is an important issue. 

The tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) and immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) are applied to treat advanced HCC with promising effects. Some instances of advanced HCC can be downstaged by TKI/ICI. Thus, the treatment for HCC has changed in the ICI era. Along with the progression of medical treatments, the aspects of surgical treatment for HCC have also changed, and challenges have been raised. The role of surgical treatment in the ICI era has to be renewed. 

Surgical treatment is a curative treatment for HCC. However, surgical treatment is frequently criticized for the high rate of tumor recurrence. Neoadjuvant or adjuvant treatments to supplement surgical treatment may help to improve the outcomes of surgical treatment, but effective adjuvant treatments are still lacking. 

This Special Issue entitled “Surgical Treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma” focuses on the innovation of surgical treatments. We are pleased to invite you to submit manuscripts to this Special Issue. In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following: surgical techniques, surgical indications, surgical outcomes, clinical trials, liver transplantation, adjuvant therapy, basic research, etc.

We look forward to receiving your contributions. 

Prof. Dr. Wei-Chen Lee
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Cancers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • surgical techniques
  • surgical indications
  • surgical outcomes
  • clinical trials
  • liver transplantation
  • adjuvant therapy
  • basic research

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

13 pages, 1535 KiB  
Article
Risk for Recurrence After Liver Resection in Patients with Hepatitis C Virus-Related Hepatocellular Carcinoma Detected After Sustained Virological Response by Direct-Acting Antivirals: A Retrospective Multicenter Study
by Shogo Tanaka, Takehiro Noda, Koji Komeda, Satoshi Yasuda, Masaki Ueno, Haruki Mori, Hisashi Kosaka, Ryo Morimura, Hiroji Shinkawa, Naoko Sekiguchi, Hisashi Ikoma, Takeaki Ishizawa and Masaki Kaibori
Cancers 2025, 17(12), 1946; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers17121946 - 11 Jun 2025
Viewed by 448
Abstract
Backgrounds: Direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapy, which achieves a high sustained virological response (SVR) rate, has been established as a standard treatment for patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. However, the risk factors for postoperative recurrence in patients with HCV-related hepatocellular carcinoma [...] Read more.
Backgrounds: Direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapy, which achieves a high sustained virological response (SVR) rate, has been established as a standard treatment for patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. However, the risk factors for postoperative recurrence in patients with HCV-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) detected after the achievement of an SVR by DAAs are unknown. Methods: The clinical records of 95 patients with initial HCV-related HCC detected after DAA-SVR achievement, who underwent liver resection between September 2014 and December 2020, were retrospectively reviewed. Patients with major vascular invasion and/or SVR achievement induced by interferon-based therapy were excluded. In this study, the patients were divided into two groups according to their alcohol intake status: without alcohol abuse (<80 g of ethanol each day for at least 5 years, n = 85) and with (continuous) alcohol abuse (n = 10). The risk factors for recurrence after liver resection were investigated, with special reference to the alcohol intake status. Results: The 3- and 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) rates after liver resection were 68.7% and 55.3%, respectively. Univariate and multivariate analyses identified alcohol abuse [hazard ratio (HR) 3.36, p = 0.004] and tumor size (HR 2.53, p = 0.010) as independent risk factors for postoperative recurrence. The 3- and 5-year postoperative DFS rates were 72.2% and 61.5% for patients without alcohol abuse and 40.0% and 13.3% for those with alcohol abuse (p = 0.001). Conclusions: Continuous alcohol abuse is a risk factor for recurrence after surgery of HCC detected after the achievement of DAA-SVR. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Surgical Treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

13 pages, 1999 KiB  
Article
Disadvantage of Viable Portal Vein Tumor Thrombosis in Liver Transplantation for Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma
by Kun-Ming Chan, Yin Lai, Hao-Chien Hung, Jin-Chiao Lee, Chih-Hsien Cheng, Yu-Chao Wang, Tsung-Han Wu, Chen-Fang Lee, Ting-Jung Wu, Hong-Shiue Chou and Wei-Chen Lee
Cancers 2025, 17(2), 188; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers17020188 - 8 Jan 2025
Viewed by 1335
Abstract
Background: Liver transplantation (LT) is a promising treatment option for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) comorbid with cirrhosis. However, HCC with portal vein tumor thrombosis (PVTT) remains an absolute contraindication for LT. This study aimed to analyze the outcomes of LT in patients [...] Read more.
Background: Liver transplantation (LT) is a promising treatment option for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) comorbid with cirrhosis. However, HCC with portal vein tumor thrombosis (PVTT) remains an absolute contraindication for LT. This study aimed to analyze the outcomes of LT in patients with HCC plus portal vein thrombosis and further evaluate the impact of PVTT on the long-term outcomes of patients. Methods: Among the 501 patients who underwent LT for HCC between January 2000 and March 2023, 29 (5.8%) patients with HCC who had portal vein thrombosis were further analyzed. Of these 29 patients with portal vein thrombosis, 12 (41.4%) were preoperatively diagnosed with PVTT and underwent LT after receiving downstaging therapy. The remaining 17 (58.6%) patients were PVTT-free prior to LT. Results: Overall, the recurrence-free survival rates at 1, 3, and 5 years were 96.3%, 74.2%, and 74.2%, respectively, while the 1-, 3-, and 5-year overall survival rates were 82.4%, 74.2%, and 70.1%, respectively. However, patients with viable PVTT had significantly worse outcomes than those without viable PVTT (p = 0.030). The 5-year recurrence-free and overall survival rates for patients with viable PVTT were 57.5% and 57.0%, respectively. Conclusions: LT may still be a promising option for patients with HCC and PVTT after appropriate downstaging. However, caution should be adopted, as remnant viable PVTT might lead to unsatisfactory outcomes after transplantation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Surgical Treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

9 pages, 570 KiB  
Article
Conversion Therapy to Transplant or Surgical Resection in Patients with Unresectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma Treated with Boosted Dose of Yttrium-90 Radiation Segmentectomy
by Sam Y. Son, Ruben Geevarghese, Brett Marinelli, Ken Zhao, Anne Covey, Aaron Maxwell, Alice C. Wei, William Jarnagin, Michael D’Angelica and Hooman Yarmohammadi
Cancers 2024, 16(17), 3024; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers16173024 - 30 Aug 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1454
Abstract
Background/Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of boosted dose yttrium-90 radioembolization (TARE) as a modality for conversion therapy to transplant or surgical resection in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods: In this single-center retrospective study, all patients [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of boosted dose yttrium-90 radioembolization (TARE) as a modality for conversion therapy to transplant or surgical resection in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods: In this single-center retrospective study, all patients with a diagnosis of HCC who were treated with boosted dose TARE (>190 Gy) between January 2013 and December 2023 were reviewed. Treatment response and decrease in tumor size were assessed with the RECIST v1.1 and mRECIST criteria. Milan and University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), criteria were used to determine transplant eligibility, and Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) surgical resection recommendations were used to evaluate tumor resectability. Results: Thirty-eight patients with primary HCC who were treated with boosted dose TARE were retrospectively analyzed. The majority of the patients were Child–Pugh A (n = 35; 92.1%), BCLC C (n = 17; 44.7%), and ECOG performance status 0 (n = 25; 65.8%). The mean sum of the target lesions was 6.0 cm (standard deviation; SD = 4.0). The objective response rate (ORR) was 31.6% by RECIST and 84.2% by mRECIST. The disease control rate (DCR) was 94.7% by both RECIST and mRECIST. Among patients outside of Milan or UCSF, 13/25 (52.0%, Milan) and 9/19 (47.4%, UCSF) patients were successfully converted to within transplant criteria. Of patients who were initially unresectable, conversion was successful in 7/26 (26.9%) patients. Conclusions: This study provides further real-world data demonstrating that boosted-dose TARE is an effective modality for conversion of patients with unresectable HCC to transplant or resection. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Surgical Treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-3
Back to TopTop