Current status and perspectives of multimodality therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has high morbidity and mortality rates worldwide, and due to the complexity of the development of HCC, the management strategy for HCC has not been completely unified. During the past decade, the treatment of HCC has developed into a multidisciplinary and multimodality therapy centered on surgical operation. Besides hepatectomy and liver transplantation, ablation therapy is another radical treatment, and at present, it can be used as the first-line treatment regimen for HCC patients who have a tumor diameter of < 3 cm and cannot undergo liver transplantation. Transarterial chemoembolization is the preferred treatment for advanced HCC not suitable for radical treatment. Molecular targeted therapy is mainly used in patients who are diagnosed with advanced HCC or progress to advanced HCC after treatment failures. Cellular immunotherapy is a new treatment for HCC and can help patients with progressive HCC to achieve good remission rate and survival benefit. A deep understanding of the features of each treatment method for HCC, development of individualized treatment regimens, and rational multimodality therapy for HCC can help to improve the overall therapeutic outcome of HCC.