TriangleHEALTH PROFESSIONAL · SOURCE READING
Treatment options for hepatocellular carcinoma that is resectable at diagnosis
Source: Childhood Liver Cancer Treatment (PDQ®)–Health Professional Version, National Cancer Institute.
Source updated: January 6, 2025 · Captured 2026-09-09.
Selected source text with whitespace normalised. This Triangle page is not an NCI PDQ summary.
Context: Hepatocellular Carcinoma / Treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Treatment options for hepatocellular carcinoma that is resectable at diagnosis include the following:
Complete surgical resection of the primary tumor followed by chemotherapy.
Chemotherapy followed by complete surgical resection of the primary tumor.[23]
Source links and citations
Complete surgical resection without chemotherapy.
Surgical resection and chemotherapy are the mainstays of treatment for resectable hepatocellular carcinoma.
Evidence (complete surgical resection followed by chemotherapy):
Seven of eight patients with stage I hepatocellular carcinoma who received adjuvant cisplatin-based chemotherapy survived disease free.[21]
Source links and citations
In a survey of childhood liver tumors treated before the consistent use of chemotherapy, only 12 of 33 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who had complete excision of the tumor survived.[29] This suggests that treatment with adjuvant chemotherapy may benefit children with completely resected hepatocellular carcinoma.
Source links and citations
In an analysis of SEER data for children and adolescents younger than 20 years who were diagnosed between 1976 and 2009, patients who underwent a complete resection had a 5-year OS rate of 60%, and patients who did not have a complete resection had a 5-year OS rate of 0%.[22][Level of evidence C1]
Source links and citations
Cisplatin and doxorubicin may be administered as adjuvant therapy because these agents may have activity in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma.[23]
Source links and citations
Evidence (complete surgical resection without chemotherapy):
In a single-institution retrospective report, 12 patients with stage I hepatocellular carcinoma were treated with surgery. Ten patients received no chemotherapy and two patients received a short course of chemotherapy based on oncologist preference.[30][Level of evidence C1]
Source links and citations
In a single-institution retrospective report, 12 patients with stage I hepatocellular carcinoma were treated with surgery. Ten patients received no chemotherapy and two patients received a short course of chemotherapy based on oncologist preference.[30][Level of evidence C1]
All 12 patients were alive without evidence of disease at a median of 54 months.
Despite improvements in surgical techniques, chemotherapy delivery, and patient supportive care in the past 20 years, clinical trials of chemotherapy have not shown improved survival rates for pediatric patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.[23] The International Childhood Liver Tumors Strategy Group (SIOPEL) studies in Europe have observed no improvement in 5-year OS since 1990. The only long-term survivors were patients whose tumors were resectable at diagnosis, which was less than 30% of children entered in the study.[31] However, some liver transplant studies (complete resection with transplant with or without neoadjuvant chemotherapy) have shown OS rates that are superior to the SIOPEL studies.[26,32-35]
Publication references
Read the original reference and check its publication notices.
Preserved source evidence · Not medical advice