4. Introduction
The most common primary tumor of the liver
Sixth most common malignancy in the world
• Incidence
– 10-20/100,000 in South East Asia
– 1-3/100,000 in North America
– 28/100000 in Singapore
(d/t increase incidence of HCV related cirrhosis
apart from HBV)
5. • Two to eight times more common in males than in
females in low and high incidence areas
• Higher incidence in males
• Related to higher rates of associated risk factors such as
HBV infection, cirrhosis, smoking, alcohol abuse, and
higher hepatic DNA synthesis in cirrhosis
6. Pathogenesis
• The precise mechanisms of carcinogenesis
– unknown
• Repeated circle of cell death & regeneration
mutation of hepatocytes
• Preneoplastic changes – hepatocytes
dysplasia can be seen.
7. • Associations between hepatic viral infections,
environmental exposures, alcohol use, smoking, genetic
metabolic diseases, cirrhosis, OCPs, and the
development of HCC recognized.
• 75% to 80% of HCC related to HBV (50%-55%) or
HCV (25%-30%) infection.
• The development of HCC is a complex and
multistep process that involves any number of these
risk factors.
8. • Studies estimate relative risks of 5 to 100 for
the development of HCC in HBV-infected
individuals compared with noninfected
individuals
• geographic areas high in HBV infection have high rates of HCC; HBV
infection precedes the development of HCC; the sequence of HBV
infection to cirrhosis to HCC is well documented; and the HBV genome
is found in the HCC genome.
• Next proposed is the HCV infection.
It appears to be one of chronic infection with a benign early course
but with ultimate development of cirrhosis and HCC.
9. • Proposed mechanism is related to cirrhosis and chronic
hepatic inflammation, which is present in 60% to 90%
of patients with HBV infection and HCC.
• Cirrhosis, however, is not a prerequisite for the
development of HBV-related HCC.
• Note that the risk for HCC is not simply related to HBV
exposure but requires chronic infection.
10. Noted…!!!!
• HBV and HCV infection are both
independent risk factors for the
development of HCC
However,
Act synergistically when an individual is
infected with both viruses.
11. • Chronic alcohol abuse has been associated with an
increased risk for HCC, and there may be a synergistic
effect with HBV and HCV infection.
• Cigarette smoking linked to the development of HCC,
but the evidence is not consistent
• Aflatoxin, produced by Aspergillus species, is a
powerful hepatotoxin that acts as a carcinogen and
increases the risk for HCC.
12. Others
• Nitrites, hydrocarbons, solvents, pesticides,
and vinyl chloride.
• Inherited metabolic liver diseases, such as
hereditary hemochromatosis, a1-antitrypsin
deficiency, and Wilson's disease
• Hormones ???? ( OCP/Anabolic Steroids)
15. Pathology
• Three distinct patterns grossly
Hanging type: easily resectable with vascular
stalk
Pushing type : characterized by growth that
displaces vascular structures rather than
invading them, usually resectable
Infiltrative type : Invade vascular structures and
difficult to resect
16. • Right upper quadrant abdominal pain and
weight loss and have a palpable mass.
• Nonspecific symptoms of advanced malignancy such as
anorexia, nausea, lethargy, and weight loss are common
• HCC can present as a rupture with the sudden onset of
abdominal pain followed by hypovolemic shock
secondary to intraperitoneal bleeding.
Clinical Features
17. • Rare presentations include hepatic vein occlusion
(Budd-Chiari syndrome), obstructive jaundice,
hemobilia, or fever of unknown origin.
• As a paraneoplastic syndrome, most commonly
hypercalcemia, hypoglycemia, and erythrocytosis ( <1 %)
18. Laboratory
• Laboratory studies should include a
Complete blood count, electrolytes, liver
function tests, coagulation studies ( INR, PTT),
and alpha-fetoprotein determination.
19. Determining disease severity
• Anemia: Low hemoglobin may be related to bleeding
from varices or other sources.
• Thrombocytopenia: A platelet count below 100,000/mL
is highly suggestive of significant portal
hypertension/splenomegaly.
• Hyponatremia is commonly found in patients with
cirrhosis and ascites and may be a marker of advanced
liver disease.
• Increased serum creatinine level may reflect intrinsic
renal disease or hepatorenal syndrome.
20. • Prolonged PT/INR reflects significant impairment of
hepatic function that may preclude resection.
• Elevated liver enzymes (AST/ALT) reflect active
hepatitis due to viral infection, current alcohol use, or
other causes.
• Increased Bilirubin level usually indicates advanced
liver disease.
• Hypoglycemia may represent end-stage liver disease (no
glycogen stores).
22. • Increased alpha fetoprotein - Levels greater
than 400 ng/mL considered diagnostic with
appropriate imaging studies
• Hypercalcemia - Ectopic parathyroid hormone
production possible in 5-10% of patients with
hepatocellular carcinoma
• Thrombocytosis (normal/rapid increase in
platelet count in patients with a history of
thrombocytopenia)
30. OKUDA STAGING
It adds up a single point for
•presence of tumor involving more than 50% of
the liver,
•presence of ascites,
•albumin less than 3 g/dL, and
•bilirubin more than 3 mg/dL
Reliably distinguishes patients with a
prohibitively poor prognosis from those with
potential for long-term survival
Stage 1 0
Stage 2 1 or 2
Stage 3 3 or 4
31. CLINICAL
PARAMETERS CUTOFF VALUES POINTS
Child-Pugh stage A 0
B 1
C 2
Tumor morphology Uninodular, <50%
extension
0
Multinodular, <50%
extension
1
Massive or
extension >50%
2
AFP (ng/dL) <400 0
>400 1
Portal vein
thrombosis
No 0
Yes 1
The Cancer of the Liver Italian Group Score (CLIP)
Score
ranges
from 0 to
6; scores
of 4 to 6
are
generally
considere
d
advanced
disease,
whereas
scores of
0 to 3
have the
potential
for long-
term
survival
33. Surgical Modality ( Resection VS
Transplantation)
• Depends upon Child Pugh score (A)
• Only 10% to 20% of patients are considered to
have resectable disease
• The overall postresection survival rates for
HCC are 58% to 100% at 1 year, 28% to 88%
at 3 years, 11% to 75% at 5 years, and 19% to
26% at 10 years.
• commonly cited negative prognostic factors are tumor
size, cirrhosis, infiltrative growth pattern, vascular invasion,
intrahepatic metastases, multifocal tumors, lymph node
metastases, margin less than 1 cm, and lack of a capsule.
34. • Ideal treatment is LIVER
TRANSPLANTATION
• Patients with advanced cirrhosis (Child's B and
C) and early-stage HCC are considered for
transplantation.
37. Others Modalities- Ethanol
• a useful technique for ablating small tumors.
• Tumor killed by a combination of cellular dehydration,
coagulative necrosis, and vascular thrombosis.
• Most tumors less than 2 cm in size can be ablated with
a single application of PEI, but larger tumors may
require multiple injections.
40. TACE
Percutaneous transarterial
embolization can induce ischemic
necrosis in HCC, resulting in
response rates as high as 50%
Treatment is generally
limited to patients with
preserved liver
function and
asymptomatic
multinodular tumors
without vascular
invasion
41. New approach :
Therasphere /Radioembolisation
• TheraSphere, delivers low-dose brachytherapy to the
tumor.
• Uses 20-40 micrometer glass beads that are loaded with
radioactive yttrium and delivered angiographically in the
tumor.
• The radiotherapy is then delivered over 10-12 days with
a total dose of about 150 Gray.
42. Systemic Chemotherapy
• Systemic chemotherapy with a variety of
agents has been ineffective for the treatment of
HCC and has a minimal role in the treatment of
HCC. Response rates are generally less than
20% and of short duration.
• doxorubicin-based regimens appear to have the greatest efficacy with
response rates of 20-30% and a minimal impact on survival.
• Immunotherapy and hormonal therapy results
not promising. (tamoxifen, antiandrogens (eg, cyproterone, ketoconazole),
interferon, interleukin 2 (IL-2), and octreotide.)
43. SORAFENIB
• Sorafenib is a small molecular inhibitor of several tyrosine
protein kinases (VEGFR and PDGFR) (tyrosine kinase
inhibitor or TKI) and Raf kinases (more avidly C-Raf than B-
Raf).
• Sorafenib also inhibits some intracellular serine/threonine
kinases (e.g. C-Raf, wild-type B-Raf and mutant B-Raf).
• Improvement in median survival and time of progression.
• However, various studies under trial
44. Follow UP
• Follow-ups should be scheduled
– Once monthly up to 6 months,
– then once every 3 months up to 1 year,
– than twice a year up to 2 years and
– once a year every year thereafter
45. The follow-up is aimed
- at drug dosage adjustment,
- early diagnosis of eventual immunosupression-
related infection,
- early detection of rejection or transplant
dysfunction, and
- later also at detection of immunosupression-related
neoplasia