Ninety cases of surgically treated recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma is reported with analysis of the machanism of recurrence and factors affecting tumor recurrence. Early detection of recurrence depends of AFP measurements and ultrasonography followup monitoring after resection. Hepatic resection is the first choice of treatment whenever it is feasible. Intratumor ethanol injection and transcatheter arterial chemoembolization during operation has been beneficial in some patients with unresectable recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma. These results suggest that reoperation for recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma may be an approach to improve the longterm survival after hepatic resection.
ObjectiveTo summarize the current comparison of the efficacy of different treatments for recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma.MethodTo search the literatures about the comparative studies on the efficacy of different treatments for recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma in recent years and analyze them.ResultsIn the treatment of recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma, percutaneous arterial chemoembolization combined with radiofrequency ablation could improve the survival rate and tumor-free survival rate to some extent, compared with the single use of percutaneous arterial chemoembolization. In the short term, there was no difference in efficacy between radiofrequency ablation and surgical resection, but the local recurrence rate of radiofrequency ablation was higher than that of surgical resection group. Salvage liver transplantation offered potential opportunity to reduce the risk of recurrence and tended to improve long-term survival outcomes, but liver sources were scarce and costly. ConclusionsAt present, there is no systematic staging scheme and treatment system for recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma. At the same time, most studies are retrospective, and more prospective studies are needed to further explore the treatment of recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma.