What's New in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Screening and Prevention?

Description

This International Liver Cancer Association and American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases joint education program reviews the current status and highlights existing opportunities for improvements in HCC risk assessment, surveillance, and prevention. Although semi-annual HCC surveillance can promote early HCC detection, adherence remains low and ultrasound misses many early-stage cancers. Given that prognosis after HCC diagnosis remains poor, prevention is paramount. Topics addressed in this program include: (1) emerging concepts in prevention, ranging from proven strategies (eg, viral hepatitis treatment) to proposed strategies (aspirin, statins, etc); (2) limitations of ultrasound-based HCC surveillance and novel surveillance strategies, including biomarkers and imaging methods (eg, abbreviated MRI); (3) precision surveillance that combines the two aforementioned concepts, an approach recently endorsed by the European Association for the Study of the Liver; and (4) subsequent steps in the cancer care continuum, including recall after positive surveillance tests and linkage to care, including in rural areas.