This document provides information on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) including its anatomy, etiology, pathogenesis, clinical presentation, diagnosis, staging, and management. HCC most commonly develops in cirrhotic livers as a result of risk factors like hepatitis or alcohol abuse. Imaging like ultrasound and CT are used to diagnose and stage HCC lesions. Treatment depends on the extent of disease and liver function, and may include resection, ablation, transplantation, or sorafenib for advanced disease. Managing HCC requires a multidisciplinary approach due to the risk of recurrence from residual disease in the liver.

1. HEPATOCELLULAR
CARCINOMA & IT’S
MANAGEMENT
DR.ASHIRWAD K
PG 2ND YEAR
DR.C K DURGA UNIT
DR RML HOSPITAL DELHI

2. ANATOMY OF LIVER
• LIVER IS THE LARGEST ORGAN IN BODY WEIGHING ABOUT 1.5 KGS .
• IT HAS DUAL BLOOD SUPPLY WITH 80% OF IT BEING FROM PORTAL VEIN AND 20%
FROM HEPATIC ARTERY.
• THE RIGHT HEPATIC AETRERY SUPPLIES THE MAJORITY OF LIVER PARENCHYMA AND
IS THE LARGEST OF TWO.
• MAJOR VENOUS DRAINAGE IS BY 3 MAJOR HEPATIC VEINS THAT JOIN IVC BELOW THE
DIAPHRAGM
• THE LIVER IS HELD IN POSITION IN RUQ BY PERITONEAL REFLECTIONS WHICH ARE
TRIANGULAR LIGAMENTS AND FALCIFORM LIGAMENT.

3. ANATOMY CONT…

4. ANATOMY CONT…
A)COUINAUD CLASSIFICATION:
1. EIGHT SEGMENTS
2.EACH SEGMENT IS A FUNCTIONAL UNIT WITH ITS OWN BRANCH OF HEPATIC
ARTERY,
PORTAL VEIN AND BILE DUCT AND DRAINED BY A BRANCH OF HEPATIC
VEIN.
B)CANTLIE’S LINE DIVIDES LIVER INTO FUNCTIONAL RIGHT AND LEFT UNIT.
C)HEPATIC LOBULES- FUNCTIONAL UNIT OF LIVER SEGMENTS.

6. INTRODUCTION
• HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMA (HCC) IS THE SIXTH MOST COMMON
MALIGNANCY IN THE WORLD AND THIRD COMMONEST CAUSE OF DEATH FROM
CANCER.
• INCIDENCE – 5 PER 100000 POPULATION.
• MALE>FEMALE (2:1 TO 4:1)
• BECAUSE OF THE TIME NECESSARY FOR CANCER TO DEVELOP IN INFECTED
PATIENTS AND THE INCREASED RISK IN OLDER PATIENTS, THE NUMBER OF
PATIENTS WITH HCC HAS RISEN RAPIDLY .

7. ETIOLOGY
MAJOR RISK FACTORS FOR HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMA
• INFECTION: HEPATITIS B, HEPATITIS C INFECTION.
• TOXIN/DRUG: ALCOHOLIC CIRRHOSIS, ALFATOXINS ,ANABOLIC STEROIDS .
• GENETIC: HEMOCHROMATOSIS, Α1-ANTITRYPSIN DEFICIENCY.
• IMMUNOLOGIC: AUTOIMMUNE CHRONIC ACTIVE HEPATITIS, PRIMARY BILIARY
CIRRHOSIS.
• OTHER: OBESITY ,NONALCOHOLIC STEATOHEPATITIS, CIRRHOSIS (OTHER
CAUSES AND IDIOPATHIC)
• THE INCIDENCE OF HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMA RELATED TO RISK FACTORS
OTHER THAN VIRAL HEPATITIS, AFLATOXIN, AND STEATOHEPATITIS IS
RELATIVELY SMALL. AND IT IS PROBABLY TRUE THAT ANY PATIENT WITH
CIRRHOSIS FROM ANY ETIOLOGY IS AT RISK FOR HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMA.
IN CHILDREN, THE VIRAL ETIOLOGIES ARE THE MOST COMMON CAUSES OF HCC.

8. PATHOGENESIS
• A) CIRRHOSIS :
1. MORE THAN 90% OF PATIENTS WHO DEVELOP HCC HAVE EVIDENCE OF
FIBROSIS IN THE LIVER.
2. RISK OF DEVELOPING HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMA ONCE CIRRHOSIS IS
ESTABLISHED IS ABOUT 3% TO 5% PER YEAR.
3. BECAUSE THE RISK OF LIVER CANCER IS GENERALIZED TO THE ENTIRE ORGAN,
THE CARCINOGENIC POTENTIAL IS TERMED A “FIELD EFFECT.” THIS “FIELD
EFFECT” IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE HIGH RATE OF RECURRENCE AFTER
RESECTION OF HCC BECAUSE OF THE REMAINING UNRESECTED LIVER BEING
AT RISK.
4. THE RECURRENCES AFTER RESECTION ARE MOST COMMONLY SECOND
PRIMARY LESIONS RATHER THAN RECURRENCE OF THE RESECTED LESION.

9. PATHOGENESIS CONT…..
B)ARTERIAL ANGIOGENESIS :
1. HCC GETS ITS BLOOD SUPPLY FROM THE HEPATIC ARTERY. THUS ON
COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY (CT), THE HCC LESION APPEARS HYPERDENSE
DURING THE ARTERIAL PHASE.
2. ON ANGIOGRAPHIC IMAGING, THE VESSELS HAVE AN UNUSUAL AND
IRREGULAR PATTERN IN BOTH SIZE AND BRANCH PATTERN, WHICH IS
DIFFERENT THAN NORMAL HEPATIC ARTERIAL SUPPLY. THIS ABNORMAL
ARTERIAL PERFUSION ALLOWS FOR TREATMENT OF HCC VIA EMBOLIZATION
OF THE FEEDING ARTERY(IES).

10. PATHOGENESIS CONT…..
C) PORTAL VEIN INVASION
1. ANOTHER CHARACTERISTIC OF HCC IS ITS PROPENSITY TO INVADE THE
PORTAL VEIN.
2. TUMORS MEASURING MORE THAN 2 CM HAVE AN INCREASED RISK OF PORTAL
VEIN INVASION.
3. IT IS LIKELY THAT PORTAL VENOUS INVASION IS EITHER A MECHANISM FOR A
DIFFUSION OF THE TUMOR ELSEWHERE IN THE LIVER AND THE BODY AND/OR
THAT THE PHENOTYPES OF THE CELLS THAT CAN INVADE THE PORTAL VEIN
ARE CELLS THAT CAN DISSEMINATE AND IMPLANT IN OTHER ORGANS SUCH
AS THE LUNG OR BONE.

11. CLINICAL PRESENTATION
A) BECAUSE OF THE KNOWN RISK FACTORS FOR HCC, THERE IS USUALLY A
HISTORY OF VIRAL HEPATITIS, ALCOHOL OR DRUG ABUSE, OBESITY AND/OR
DIABETES, OR PAST HISTORY OF HCC.
B) AS AN INCIDENTAL FINDING DURING ULTRASOUND ABDOMEN.
C) THE FINDING OF SMALL ASYMPTOMATIC LIVER LESIONS DURING THE
RADIOLOGIC EVALUATION FOR LIVER TRANSPLANTATION IS ANOTHER
COMMON PRESENTATION.

12. PHYSICAL EXAMINATION
-JAUNDICE, ASCITES, CACHEXIA, SPLENOMEGALY, HEPATOMEGALY, OR IT MAY BE
NORMAL.
-WITH SUBTLE STIGMATA OF LIVER DISEASE, SUCH AS SPIDER ANGIOMATA OR
PALMAR ERYTHEMA.

13. LABORATORY INVESTIGATIONS
1. ABNORMAL LIVER FUNCTION TESTS AND ENZYMES.
2. VIRAL SEROLOGY
3. CIRRHOTICS MAY HAVE THROMBOCYTOPENIA, WHICH IS A MARKER OF PORTAL
HYPERTENSION.
4. Α-FETOPROTEIN (AFP): A LEVEL >400 NG/ML IS DIAGNOSTIC WHEN THERE IS A
LIVER MASS >2 CM PRESENT. IN LESIONS <2 CM THE LEVELS MAY BE NORMAL.
5. DES-CARBOXYPROTHROMBIN (DCP):SPECIFIC IN DIFFERENTIATING BENIGN FROM
MALIGNANT LESIONS, AND IS ELEVATED IN ABOUT 40% OF PATIENTS WITH HCC
LESIONS LESS THAN 2 CM.

14. IMAGING MODALITIES
A) USG:
1.PRIMARY USE FOR ULTRASONOGRAPHY IS IN SCREENING POPULATIONS FOR
HCC.
2.SENSITIVITY IS 65-85% AND SPECIFICITY IS > 90%.
3. SURVEILLANCE OF HIGH-RISK INDIVIDUALS WITH ULTRASOUND AND AFP EVERY
6 MONTHS REDUCES HCC-RELATED MORTALITY BY CLOSE TO 40%.
4.LESION <1CM- FOLLOW UP.
5.LESION 1-2CM/>2CM – CONFIRM WITH ANOTHER IMAGING MODALITY.
6.CANNOT DIFFERENTIATE B/W BENIGN & MALIGNANT LESIONS BUT USING
CONTRAST AGENTS WITH MICROBUBBLES CAN HELP DIFFERENTIATING B/W THE
LIVER MASSES.

15. B.COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY
1.ACCURATELY DIAGNOSE & STAGE THE EXTENT OF DISEASE.
2. SENSITIVITY OF MDCT IS ABOUT 86%, WHICH DROPS TO ABOUT 60% WITH
LESIONS <2 CM IN SIZE.
3. INVASIVE COMBINATION TECHNIQUES SUCH AS INTRAARTERIAL CT
ANGIOGRAMS AND CT ARTERIAL PORTOGRAPHY HAVE SHOWN A SENSITIVITY AND
SPECIFICITY OF UP TO 93% AND 97%, RESPECTIVELY.
4.LIPIODOL (IONIZED POPPY SEED OIL)- HETEROGENEOUS UPTAKE OF LIPIODOL ON
FOLLOWUP CT WITH RESIDUAL TUMOR ENHANCEMENT IS SUGGESTIVE OF
PRESENCE OF VIABLE TUMOR.

16. C . MRI
1. HIGH SIGNAL INTENSITY ON T2-WEIGHTED SEQUENCES WITH STRONG EARLY
ARTERIAL ENHANCEMENT AND DELAYED WASHOUT.
2. EARLY MALIGNANT GROWTH WITHIN DYSPLASTIC NODULES -“NODULE
WITHIN A NODULE” APPEARANCE.
3. CONTRAST AGENTS - GADOLINIUM CHELATES, SUPERPARAMAGNETIC IRON
OXIDE, AND HEPATOCYTE-DIRECTED AGENTS (MANGAFODIPIR TRISODIUM).

17. STAGING SYSTEMS
STAGING HELPS PLAN MANAGEMENT AND PREDICT PROGNOSIS AND OUTCOME,
WHICH ARE:
1.BCLC
2.TNM
3.OKUDA
4.CLIP

18. MANAGAEMENT
- AS WITH MOST CANCERS, TREATMENT DECISIONS IN PATIENTS WITH HCC NEED TO
BE BASED ON THE OVERALL HEALTH STATUS OF THE PATIENT, THE EXTENT OF THE
DISEASE, AND THE DATA REGARDING THE RESULTS OF ANY PARTICULAR
TREATMENT.
- HCC FREQUENTLY ARISES IN A CIRRHOTIC LIVER. DECOMPENSATION OR THE RISK OF
DECOMPENSATION BECAUSE OF THE CHOSEN THERAPY OF THE CIRRHOSIS CAN LIMIT
POTENTIAL THERAPIES.
- BECAUSE OF FIELD EFFECT THE RISK OF DEVELOPING A SECOND PRIMARY AFTER
RESECTION FOR HCC IS ABOUT 35% AT 1 YEAR, 40% TO 50% OVER 3 YEARS, AND AS
HIGH AS 70% AT 5 YEARS.
- UNFORTUNATELY, 80% OF PATIENTS WILL PRESENT AT A STAGE TOO ADVANCED FOR
SURGICAL RESECTION OR TRANSPLANTATION.

19. MANAGEMENT MODALITIES
A)SYSTEMIC THERAPY: SORAFENIB
B)ABLATIVE PROCEDURES:
1.RADIOFREQUENCY ABLATION(RFA) 6.TACE + RFA
2.PERCUTANEOUS ETHANOL INJECTION(PEI) 7.LASER ABLATION
3. MICROWAVE THERAPY
4. CRYOTHERAPY
5.TAE/TACE

20. CONT…
C)TRANSPLANTATION:
1.MILAN CRITERIA
2.UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN FRANSISCO(UCSF)

21. CONT…
D.RESECTION
-ASSESSMENT OF HEAPTIC FUNCTION AND RESERVE
1)ICG- AT 15 MINS IF RETENTION >20% - 1/6TH OF LIVER RESECTION
AT 15 MINS IF RETENTION >30%- RFA OR LIMITED RESECTION IS
APPROPRIATE.
2)CTP- A- 50% RESECTION
B-25% RESECTION
C- NO RESECTION
3)PORTAL VENOUS PRESSURE ASSESED BY HVWP AND ABNORMAL BILIRUBIN
LEVELS.
4)PORTAL VEIN EMBOLISATION.
5)INTRA OPERATIVE USG WITH PRE-OP TUMOR VASCULATURE PATTERN

22. CONT….
THE APPROPRIATE TECHNIQUE DEPENDS ON THE LOCATION OF THE TUMOR, THE
DEGREE OF CIRRHOSIS, AND THE EXPERIENCE OF THE SURGEON. THE PRINCIPLES
ARE THE PREVENTION OF BLOOD LOSS AND THE PRESERVATION OF AS MUCH
FUNCTIONAL LIVER AS POSSIBLE. IT DOES APPEAR THAT MARGINS GREATER THAN
5 TO 10 MM ARE ADEQUATE.

23. BCLC

24. THANK
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