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Therapeutic options in hepatocellular carcinoma: a comprehensive review

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Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a chronic liver disease that is highly fatal if not detected and treated early. The incidence and death rate of HCC have been increasing in recent decades despite the measures taken for preventive screening and effective diagnostic and treatment strategies. The pathophysiology of HCC is multifactorial and highly complex owing to its molecular and immune heterogeneity, and thus the gap in knowledge still precludes making choices between viable therapeutic options and also the development of effective regimens. The treatment of HCC demands multidisciplinary approaches and primarily depends on tumor stage, hepatic functional reserve, and response to treatment by patients. Although curative treatments are limited but critical in the early stages of cancer, there are numerous palliative treatments available for patients with intermediate and advanced-stage HCC. In recent times, the use of combination therapy has succeeded over the use of monotherapy in the treatment of HCC by achieving effective tumor suppression, increasing survival rate, decreasing toxicity, and also aiding in overcoming drug resistance. This work focuses on reviewing the current and emerging treatment strategies for HCC.

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Source: Clinical trials for HCC from clinicaltrials.gov

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Funding

This work was supported in part by Extramural Ad-hoc Grant from Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) [No. 2020–2819] and Ramalingaswami Re-entry Fellowship from the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) [No. BT/RLF/Re-entry/58/2017], Government of India.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry, CEMR, JSS Medical College, JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research, SS Nagar, Mysuru, 570015, India

    Diwakar Suresh, Akshatha N. Srinivas, Akila Prashant & Divya P. Kumar

  2. Cancer Research Program, Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (RGCB), Thiruvananthapuram, 695014, India

    Kuzhuvelil B. Harikumar

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  1. Diwakar Suresh
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  2. Akshatha N. Srinivas
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  3. Akila Prashant
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DS and DPK devised and wrote the manuscript. ANS and DPK made the figures. ANS, AP and KBH provided inputs and edited the manuscript. All authors approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Divya P. Kumar.

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Suresh, D., Srinivas, A.N., Prashant, A. et al. Therapeutic options in hepatocellular carcinoma: a comprehensive review. Clin Exp Med 23, 1901–1916 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10238-023-01014-3

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