Journal of Liver Cancer

Original Articles

Hepatocellular carcinoma in Korea: an analysis of the 2016-2018 Korean Nationwide Cancer Registry: Jihyun An, Young Chang, Gwang Hyeon Choi, Won Sohn, Jeong Eun Song, Hyunjae Shin, Jae Hyun Yoon, Jun Sik Yoon, Hye Young Jang, Eun Ju Cho, Ji Won Han, Suk Kyun Hong, Ju-Yeon Cho, Kyu-Won Jung, Eun Hye Park, Eunyang Kim, Bo Hyun Kim; J Liver Cancer. 2025;25(1):109-122. Published online March 4, 2025; DOI: https://doi.org/10.17998/jlc.2025.02.20

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Abstract PDF Supplementary Material: Backgrounds/Aims
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the sixth most common cancer and second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in South Korea. This study evaluated the characteristics of Korean patients newly diagnosed with HCC in 2016-2018.
Methods
Data from the Korean Primary Liver Cancer Registry (KPLCR), a representative database of patients newly diagnosed with HCC in South Korea, were analyzed. This study investigated 4,462 patients with HCC registered in the KPLCR in 2016-2018.
Results
The median patient age was 63 years (interquartile range, 55-72). 79.7% of patients were male. Hepatitis B infection was the most common underlying liver disease (54.5%). The Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) staging system classified patients as follows: stage 0 (14.9%), A (28.8%), B (7.5%), C (39.0%), and D (9.8%). The median overall survival was 3.72 years (95% confidence interval, 3.47-4.14), with 1-, 3-, and 5-year overall survival rates of 71.3%, 54.1%, and 44.3%, respectively. In 2016-2018, there was a significant shift toward BCLC stage 0-A and Child-Turcotte-Pugh liver function class A (P<0.05), although survival rates did not differ by diagnosis year. In the treatment group (n=4,389), the most common initial treatments were transarterial therapy (31.7%), surgical resection (24.9%), best supportive care (18.9%), and local ablation therapy (10.5%).
Conclusions
Between 2016 and 2018, HCC tended to be diagnosed at earlier stages, with better liver function in later years. However, since approximately half of the patients remained diagnosed at an advanced stage, more rigorous and optimized HCC screening strategies should be implemented.

Comparison of atezolizumab plus bevacizumab and lenvatinib for hepatocellular carcinoma with portal vein tumor thrombosis: Jeayeon Park, Yun Bin Lee, Yunmi Ko, Youngsu Park, Hyunjae Shin, Moon Haeng Hur, Min Kyung Park, Dae-Won Lee, Eun Ju Cho, Kyung-Hun Lee, Jeong-Hoon Lee, Su Jong Yu, Tae-Yong Kim, Yoon Jun Kim, Tae-You Kim, Jung-Hwan Yoon; J Liver Cancer. 2024;24(1):81-91. Published online January 19, 2024; DOI: https://doi.org/10.17998/jlc.2023.12.25

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4 Citations

Background/Aim
Atezolizumab plus bevacizumab and lenvatinib are currently available as first-line therapy for the treatment of unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, comparative efficacy studies are still limited. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of these treatments in HCC patients with portal vein tumor thrombosis (PVTT).
Methods
We retrospectively included patients who received either atezolizumab plus bevacizumab or lenvatinib as first-line systemic therapy for HCC with PVTT. Primary endpoint was overall survival (OS), and secondary endpoints included progressionfree survival (PFS) and disease control rate (DCR) determined by response evaluation criteria in solid tumors, version 1.1.
Results
A total of 52 patients were included: 30 received atezolizumab plus bevacizumab and 22 received lenvatinib. The median follow-up duration was 6.4 months (interquartile range, 3.9-9.8). The median OS was 10.8 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 5.7 to not estimated) with atezolizumab plus bevacizumab and 5.8 months (95% CI, 4.8 to not estimated) with lenvatinib (P=0.26 by log-rank test). There was no statistically significant difference in OS (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 0.71; 95% CI, 0.34-1.49; P=0.37). The median PFS was similar (P=0.63 by log-rank test), with 4.1 months (95% CI, 3.3-7.7) for atezolizumab plus bevacizumab and 4.3 months (95% CI, 2.6-5.8) for lenvatinib (aHR, 0.93; 95% CI, 0.51-1.69; P=0.80). HRs were similar after inverse probability treatment weighting. The DCRs were 23.3% and 18.2% in patients receiving atezolizumab plus bevacizumab and lenvatinib, respectively (P=0.74).
Conclusion
The effectiveness of atezolizumab plus bevacizumab and lenvatinib was comparable for the treatment of HCC with PVTT.

Citations

Citations to this article as recorded by

Management strategies for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma with portal vein tumor thrombosis
Jeayeon Park, Su Jong Yu
The Ewha Medical Journal.2025;[Epub] CrossRef
Portal vein tumor thrombosis in hepatocellular carcinoma patients: Is it the end?
Walaa Abdelhamed, Hend Shousha, Mohamed El-Kassas
Liver Research.2024;[Epub] CrossRef
Reappraisal of transarterial radioembolization for liver-confined hepatocellular carcinoma with portal vein tumor thrombosis: Editorial on “Transarterial radioembolization versus tyrosine kinase inhibitor in hepatocellular carcinoma with portal vein throm
Jin Hyoung Kim, Gun Ha Kim, Dong Il Gwon
Clinical and Molecular Hepatology.2024; 30(4): 659. CrossRef
Current perspectives on the pharmacological treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma: a narrative review
Hye-Jin Yoo, Jeong-Ju Yoo, Sang Gyune Kim, Young Seok Kim
The Ewha Medical Journal.2024;[Epub] CrossRef

Use of doxorubicin-eluting bead transarterial chemoembolization for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma with portal vein invasion: a prospective study: Su Jong Yu, Yun Bin Lee, Eun Ju Cho, Jeong-Hoon Lee, Hyo-Cheol Kim, Jin Wook Chung, Jung-Hwan Yoon, Yoon Jun Kim; J Liver Cancer. 2023;23(1):166-176. Published online March 3, 2023; DOI: https://doi.org/10.17998/jlc.2023.02.08

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Abstract PDF Supplementary Material: Background/Aim
To evaluate the applicability of transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) treatment with doxorubicin drug-eluting beads (DEBs) in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients with portal vein invasion (PVI).
Methods
This prospective study was approved by the institutional review board and informed consent was obtained from all participants. A total of 30 HCC patients with PVI received DEB-TACE between 2015 and 2018. The following parameters were evaluated: complications during DEB-TACE, abdominal pain, fever, and laboratory outcomes, including liver function change. Overall survival (OS), time to progression (TTP), and adverse events were also analyzed and assessed.
Results
DEBs measuring 100–300 μm in diameter were loaded with doxorubicin (150 mg per procedure). There were no complications during DEB-TACE and no significant differences in the levels of prothrombin time, serum albumin, or total bilirubin at follow-up compared to baseline. The median TTP was 102 days (95% confidence interval [CI], 42–207 days) and the median OS was 216 days (95% CI, 160–336 days). Three patients (10%) had severe adverse reactions, including transient acute cholangitis (n=1), cerebellar infarction (n=1), and pulmonary embolism (n=1), but no treatment-related death occurred.
Conclusions
DEB-TACE may be a therapeutic option for advanced HCC patients with PVI.

Case Report

Hepatocellular Carcinoma with Segmental Portal Vein Invasion Exhibiting a Complete Response after Transarterial Radioembolization: Jun Sik Yoon, Su Jong Yu, Yun Bin Lee, Eun Ju Cho, Jeong-Hoon Lee, Yoon Jun Kim, Jung-Hwan Yoon; J Liver Cancer. 2019;19(2):159-164. Published online September 30, 2019; DOI: https://doi.org/10.17998/jlc.19.2.159

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Abstract PDF: The treatment options available for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with portal vein invasion (PVI) include sorafenib, transarterial radioembolization (TARE), radiation therapy (RT), transarterial chemoembolization with RT, and proton beam irradiation. Herein, we present a case of HCC with segmental PVI that was managed via TARE. The patient had a 4 cm HCC that invaded the segment VIII portal vein branch without extrahepatic spread. Liver function was Child-Pugh grade A, and performance status was good. TARE was performed without any adverse events, and a radiological complete response (CR) was achieved. Thereafter, the patient was followed-up every 3-6 months without any further treatment, and the CR was maintained for >3 years. Therefore, TARE may be a useful alternative therapeutic option for patients with HCC exhibiting segmental PVI.

Original Articles

Tenofovir and Entecavir Have Similar Renal Adverse Events on Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients Treated with Transarterial Chemoembolization: Young Youn Cho, Young Hwan Choi, Su Jong Yu, Eun Ju Cho, Jeong-Hoon Lee, Yoon Jun Kim, Jung-Hwan Yoon; J Liver Cancer. 2019;19(2):128-135. Published online September 30, 2019; DOI: https://doi.org/10.17998/jlc.19.2.128

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1 Citation

Abstract PDF

Background/Aims
Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) is potentially nephrotoxic in chronic hepatitis B patients. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients treated using transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) are at an increased risk of renal injury. The aim of this study was to determine whether TDF is associated with more renal adverse events than entecavir (ETV) in HCC patients treated with TACE.
Methods
In this retrospective single-center study, we selected 53 HCC patients who were treated with TDF from January 2012 to July 2013 and had their first TACE procedure in the same period. These patients were matched by age and sex to patients treated with ETV.
Results
There were no significant differences in baseline characteristics, including HCC factors, and nephrotoxic drug use, between the two groups. The median follow-up period was 17.0 and 20.0 months for the TDF and ETV groups, respectively. There was no difference during the follow-up period between the TDF and ETV groups in the increase in creatinine over 0.5 mg/dL (17.0% and 17.0%, P=1.00, respectively) and the decrease in eGFR over 25% (43.4% and 41.5%, P=0.84, respectively). Multivariate analysis revealed that Child-Pugh class over B (hazard ratio [HR], 7.30; 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.79-19.10; P<0.01) was associated with increase in creatinine, and Child-Pugh class over B (HR, 82.74; 95% CI 12.31-555.83; P<0.01) and Barcelona-Clinic Liver Cancer stage over B (HR, 14.93; 95% CI 1.60-139.51; P=0.02) were associated with decrease in eGFR.
Conclusions
TDF has comparable safety to that of ETV for HCC patients undergoing TACE.

Citations

Citations to this article as recorded by

Big Data Information under Proportional Hazard Mathematical Model in Analysis of Hepatitis B Virus Infection Data of Patients with Interventional Liver Cancer through Antiviral Therapy of Entecavir
Yichi Zhang, Shuai Zhao, Han Ding, Xiaoling Song, Huijie Miao, Xuya Cui, Jian Wang, Bing Han, Enas Abdulhay
Journal of Healthcare Engineering.2021; 2021: 1. CrossRef

Transarterial Chemoembolization versus Radiofrequency Ablation for Small Hepatocellular Carcinomas with Discrepant Features on Computed Tomography and Magnetic Resonance Imaging: Young Youn Cho, Jung Hee Kwon, Jeong-Hoon Lee, Jeong Min Lee, Jae Young Lee, Hyo-Choel Kim, Jin Wook Chung, Won-mook Choi, Eun Ju Cho, Yoon Jun Kim, Jung-Hwan Yoon, Chung Yong Kim, Hyo-Suk Lee; J Liver Cancer. 2015;15(1):19-29. Published online March 31, 2015; DOI: https://doi.org/10.17998/jlc.15.1.19

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11 Downloads

Abstract PDF: Background/Aims
This study compared the outcomes of patients with small hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs) who were treated using transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) or radiofrequency ablation (RFA).
Methods
This was a post-hoc analysis of a prospective study that evaluated the diagnostic efficacy of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT). We analyzed 41 small hepatic nodules in 32 patients that showed typical radiologic hallmarks on both CT and gadoxate-enhanced MRI (typical nodules) and 25 small hepatic nodules from 22 patients that showed atypical radiologic hallmarks on CT and typical radiologic hallmarks on MRI (discrepant nodules).
Results
There were no significant differences in the baseline characteristics of the patients with typical and discrepant nodules. Complete response rates 1 month after TACE or RFA were 75.0% (18/24) and 94.1% (16/17; P=0.20), respectively, for the patients with typical nodules and 58.8% (10/17) and 100% (8/8; P=0.05), respectively, for the patients with discrepant nodules. Treatment failure rates after TACE or RFA were 33.3% (8/24) and 5.8% (1/17; P=0.15), respectively, for the patients with typical nodules and 47.0% (8/17) and 0.0% (0/8; P=0.02), respectively, for the patients with discrepant nodules. Among patients achieving complete response, there were no significant differences in the risk of marginal recurrence.
Conclusions
RFA provided higher complete response rates and significantly lower treatment failure rates than TACE for patients with discrepant nodules of HCC. Therefore, a treatment modality such as RFA may be preferable for small HCCs which show discrepancy on two imaging modalities.

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