Researchers from Hospital Clínic-IDIBAPS-UB publish a new review article on the hepatocellular carcinoma
The journal The Lancet published a review article gathering the most current research on the diagnosis and treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma, the most common type of liver cancer. The authors of the study are Alejandro Forner, Marta Reig and Jordi Bruix, researchers in the Hepatic Oncology Group of Hospital Clínic-IDIBAPS, from the University of Barcelona and the Liber and Digestive Diseases Networking Biomedical Research Centre (CIBERehd).
The journal The Lancet published a review article gathering the most current research on the diagnosis and treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma, the most common type of liver cancer. The authors of the study are Alejandro Forner, Marta Reig and Jordi Bruix, researchers in the Hepatic Oncology Group of Hospital Clínic-IDIBAPS, from the University of Barcelona and the Liber and Digestive Diseases Networking Biomedical Research Centre (CIBERehd).
Hepatocellular carcinoma is the third leading cancer death worldwide and one of the main death causes in patients with cirrhosis. The chronic infection of the viral hepatitis and alcohol abuse are the main reasons, but over the last years, researchers detected that the non-alcoholic fatty liver is becoming an important factor in the development of the disease, in western countries.
Over the last ten years, the treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma has developed significantly. At the moment, patients with this tumour can benefit from different treatment options to increase survival, regardless of the phase of the disease at the moment of its diagnosis. However, many areas have to improve yet, such as the prevention of getting risk factors that favour the appearance of this disease.
The review published in The Lancet was carried out with a systematic search of the most important and current science publications focused on the hepatocellular carcinoma. It shows the progresses from the last years, which the research team led by Jordi Bruix, lecturer at the Department of Medicine of the UB, internationally known as Barcelona Clínic Liver Cancer (BCLC), contributed to.
Due the health impact with this type of cancer, all scientific societies suggest establishing screening programs in people at risk and selecting the best treatment option in accordance to each patientʼs features. In this sense, the most accepted strategy worldwide to evaluate the prediction and decide the best treatment in patients with this type of cancer is the one proposed by the BCLC team.
“This publication is a recognition to the research lead on hepatic cancer in our group, which brought The Lancet to write this kind of document in 2003, 2012 and 2018, apart from leading the preparation of clinical practice guidelines at a national and international scale”, highlights Jordi Bruix.
Article reference:
Forner, A.; Reig, M.; Bruix, J. «Hepatocellular carcinoma». The Lancet, January 2018. Doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(18)30010-2