α-Fetoprotein for Hepatocellular Carcinoma Diagnosis: The Demise of a Brilliant Star

Treatment for Hepatocellular Carcinoma in South Asia

Alpha-Fetoprotein in Early Hepatocellular Carcinoma

DETECT: Development of Technologies for Early HCC Detection

Management of patients with hepatitis B virus-induced cirrhosis

Percutaneous ethanol injection for hepatocellular carcinoma: Alive or dead?

New frontiers in liver resection for hepatocellular carcinoma.

International Liver Cancer Association (ILCA) White Paper on Biomarker Development for Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Time-dependent events in natural history of occult hepatitis B virus infection: the importance of population-based long-term follow-up study with repeated measurements

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the major causes of morbidity, mortality and healthcare expenditure in patients with chronic liver disease. There are no consensus guidelines on diagnosis and management of HCC in India. The Indian National Association for Study of the Liver (INASL) set up a Task-Force on HCC in 2011, with a mandate to develop consensus guidelines for diagnosis and management of HCC, relevant to disease patterns and clinical practices in India. The Task-Force first identified various contentious issues on various aspects of HCC and these issues were allotted to individual members of the Task-Force who reviewed them in detail. The Task-Force used the Oxford Center for Evidence Based Medicine-Levels of Evidence of 2009 for developing an evidence-based approach. A 2-day round table discussion was held on 9th and 10th February, 2013 at Puri, Odisha, to discuss, debate, and finalize the consensus statements. The members of the Task-Force reviewed and discussed the existing literature at this meeting and formulated the INASL consensus statements for each of the issues. We present here the INASL consensus guidelines (The Puri Recommendations) on prevention, diagnosis and management of HCC in India.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections pose a growing challenge to health care systems. Although chronic HCV infection begins as an asymptomatic condition with few short-term effects, it can progress to cirrhosis, hepatic decompensation, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and death. The rate of new HCV infections is decreasing, yet the number of infected people with complications of the disease is increasing. In the United States, people born between 1945 and 1964 (baby boomers) are developing more complications of infection. Men and African Americans have a higher prevalence of HCV infection. Progression of fibrosis can be accelerated by factors such as older age, duration of HCV infection, sex, and alcohol intake. Furthermore, insulin resistance can cause hepatic steatosis and is associated with fibrosis progression and inflammation. If more effective therapies are not adopted for HCV, more than 1 million patients could develop HCV-related cirrhosis, hepatic decompensation, or HCC by 2020, which will impact the US health care system. It is important to recognize the impact of HCV on liver disease progression and apply new therapeutic strategies.

Impact of Surveillance on Survival of Patients With Initial Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Study From Japan

Focus

Hepatitis C and liver transplantation

EUS-guided FNA could be another important tool for the early diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma

Liver cancer: Approaching a personalized care