Surgical treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma in cirrhotic patients. Guide to the selection and decision-making process in a context of multimodal strategy.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most frequent malignant tumour and the third leading cause of death due to cancer worldwide [1]. Surgical treatment is the only long-term curative therapy. But the resection rate remains low in cirrhotic patients due to contraindications imposed mainly by hepatic insufficiency and excessively advanced tumoral stages. In recent years, however, due to the extended use of screening programmes in high-risk patients, tumours are smaller at presentation, making treatments easier. In the current context of shortage of organs for transplantation, surgical resection remains the best available treatment option for most patients with HCC in cirrhotic livers. Despite the encouraging results reported by several groups in terms of overall survival, the high recurrence rate is still an unsolved problem. Recently, a large, randomised, placebo-controlled trial has shown that a multikinase inhibitor targeting Ras-kinase and VEGFR-2, sorafenib, improves survival of patients with advanced HCC. Sorafenib was approved by regulatory agencies during 2007 and is likely to become the new standard therapy for HCC patients with advanced disease.