Diagnosis and Treatment for Hepatocellular Tumors: 3rd Edition
A special issue of Cancers (ISSN 2072-6694).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2026 | Viewed by 13
Special Issue Editors
Interests: cirrhosis; hepatocellular carcinoma; MASLD; portal hypertension; liver transplantation
Interests: MASLD; portal hypertension; sarcopenia; non-invasive tests; liver fibrosis
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
This Special Issue is the third edition of a previous Special Issue, titled ‘Diagnosis and Treatment for Hepatocellular Tumors’ (link 1: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/cancers/special_issues/Diagnosis_Treatment_Hepatocellular; link 2: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/cancers/special_issues/RP81F6Y99K).
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary liver cancer, mainly affecting patients with cirrhosis with an annual incidence of 1–6%. HCC is a biologically and clinically heterogeneous disease, whose management is uniquely influenced by the interplay between tumour burden, underlying liver dysfunction, and patient-related factors. Following the second edition of the Cancers Special Issue on HCC, advances in non-invasive diagnosis and locoregional and systemic therapies have changed the landscape in HCC management. Refined radiological criteria (Liver Imaging Reporting and Data System, LI-RADS) have allowed the non-invasive diagnosis of HCC in a substantial proportion of patients. Novel biomarkers, such as circulating tumour DNA, are being investigated and hold promise for early HCC detection and risk stratification, either as isolated biomarkers or for integration into scoring systems (GALAD score). Tumour biopsy, despite not being mandatory for establishing a diagnosis, can provide valuable information on tumour biology as it enables molecular analysis and HCC subtyping, paving the way towards a more personalised approach in HCC management. Recent advancements in artificial intelligence have transformed the field by enhancing early detection, automating tumour segmentation, and accurately predicting patient responses to treatment. Immunotherapy has revolutionised therapy for intermediate- and advanced-stage HCC, offering superior survival to targeted therapies. Several immunotherapy regimes and novel targeted therapies demonstrate promising response rates, expanding the available options for HCC therapy. Locoregional therapies have also evolved to include modalities such as transarterial chemoembolization with drug-eluting beads, and selective internal radiation therapy. The role of combining locoregional and systemic therapies is being actively explored and may provide a new standard-of-care in the future. Importantly, novel therapies have been shown to achieve disease control and act as a bridge to liver transplantation, or even achieve downstaging, allowing for definitive treatment, such as resection or liver transplantation. As therapeutic options have expanded and treatment sequencing has become increasingly complex, HCC management has progressively moved beyond rigid stage-based algorithms toward a multiparametric, patient-centred approach. In this evolving scenario, expert multidisciplinary tumour boards play a pivotal role in integrating tumour biology, liver function, patient-related factors, and technical feasibility to optimise individual survival benefit. The third edition of the Special Issue on HCC aims to highlight the recent advances in diagnosis and treatment by focusing on the areas that are likely to redefine clinical practice and pave the way towards a more personalised approach.
Dr. Eleni Theocharidou
Dr. Maria Kalafateli
Guest Editors
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
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
- hepatocellular carcinoma
- locoregional therapies
- immunotherapy
- targeted therapies
- transarterial chemoemboli-zation
- liver transplantation
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