To the Editor,
We read the article Surgical resection versus conformal radiotherapy combined with TACE for resectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with portal vein tumor thrombus (PVTT): a comparative study by Tang et al. [1] with great interest. This article will be a useful guide for physicians in the future. In that paper, the authors suggested three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT) is more useful than surgery in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with portal vein tumor thrombus (PVTT). This study showed that the overall survival of patients was better with 3D-CRT than with surgery.
The authors compared only two alternative therapies for HCC: surgery and 3D-CRT. In addition to these therapies, transarterial radioembolization with yttrium-90 (Y-90) microspheres has also been used for these cases, which avoids many of the limitations of external techniques [2]. In our institution, we also perform Y-90 radioembolization in cases of HCC with PVTT.
References
Tang QH, Li AJ, Yang GM, Lai EC, Zhou WP, Jiang ZH, Lau WY, Wu MC (2013) Surgical resection versus conformal radiotherapy combined with TACE for resectable hepatocellular carcinoma with portal vein tumor thrombus: a comparative study. World J Surg 37(6):1362–1370. doi:10.1007/s00268-013-1969-x
Lewandowski RJ, Salem R (2006) Yttrium-90 radioembolization of hepatocellular carcinoma and metastatic disease to the liver. Semin Interv Radiol 23(1):64–72
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Akgun, V., Karaman, B., Sari, S. et al. An Alternative Therapy for HCC with Portal Vein Tumor Thrombosis: Y-90 Radioembolization. World J Surg 38, 1246 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00268-013-2279-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00268-013-2279-z