TY - JOUR
T1 - Surveillance for early diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma
T2 - How best to do it?
AU - Giannini, Edoardo G.
AU - Cucchetti, Alessandro
AU - Erroi, Virginia
AU - Garuti, Francesca
AU - Odaldi, Federica
AU - Trevisani, Franco
PY - 2013/12/21
Y1 - 2013/12/21
N2 - Surveillance for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is considered a standard of care for patients with chronic liver disease who are at risk of developing this malignancy. Several studies have shown that surveillance can improve the prognosis of patients diagnosed with HCC through an increased likelihood of application of curative or effective treatments. Repetition of liver ul-trasonography (US) every 6 mo is the recommended surveillance program to detect early HCCs, and a positive US has to entrain a well-defined recall policy based on contrast-enhanced, dynamic radiological imaging or biopsy for the diagnosis of HCC. Although HCC fulfills the accepted criteria regarding cost-effective cancer screening and surveillance, the implementation of surveillance in clinical practice is defective and this has a negative impact on the cost-effectiveness of the procedure. Education of both physicians and patients is of paramount importance in order to improve the surveillance application and its benefits in patients at risk of HCC. The promotion of specific educational programs for practitioners, clinicians and patients is instrumental in order to expand the correct use of surveillance in clinical practice and eventually improve HCC prognosis.
AB - Surveillance for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is considered a standard of care for patients with chronic liver disease who are at risk of developing this malignancy. Several studies have shown that surveillance can improve the prognosis of patients diagnosed with HCC through an increased likelihood of application of curative or effective treatments. Repetition of liver ul-trasonography (US) every 6 mo is the recommended surveillance program to detect early HCCs, and a positive US has to entrain a well-defined recall policy based on contrast-enhanced, dynamic radiological imaging or biopsy for the diagnosis of HCC. Although HCC fulfills the accepted criteria regarding cost-effective cancer screening and surveillance, the implementation of surveillance in clinical practice is defective and this has a negative impact on the cost-effectiveness of the procedure. Education of both physicians and patients is of paramount importance in order to improve the surveillance application and its benefits in patients at risk of HCC. The promotion of specific educational programs for practitioners, clinicians and patients is instrumental in order to expand the correct use of surveillance in clinical practice and eventually improve HCC prognosis.
KW - Cost-effectiveness
KW - Hepatocellular carcinoma
KW - Screening
KW - Surveillance
KW - Ultrasonography
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84890911154&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84890911154&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3748/wjg.v19.i47.8808
DO - 10.3748/wjg.v19.i47.8808
M3 - Article
C2 - 24379604
AN - SCOPUS:84890911154
VL - 19
SP - 8808
EP - 8821
JO - World Journal of Gastroenterology
JF - World Journal of Gastroenterology
SN - 1007-9327
IS - 47
ER -