Synonyms
Hepatoma; Liver cancer; Primary liver cancer; Liver cell carcinoma; Primary liver cell carcinoma; HCC
Definition and Characteristics
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a malignant liver tumor that arises from parenchymal epithelial liver cells (hepatocytes). HCCs have a generally very poor prognosis with a 5-year survival rate of <5% in symptomatic patients. Furthermore, these tumors have been shown to be quite resistant to chemotherapy. The natural course of the disease and the median survival of patients with HCC depend on the stage of the disease at the time of diagnosis. In patients with CLIP score O or Okuda stage I (see below) the median survival is in the range of 23–69 months, while in patients with CLIP score 3–5 or Okuda stage III median survival is only 1–14 months [1]. The staging system is clinically most important for the appropriate choice of the therapeutic strategy for individual patients. Cirrhotic patients developing a HCC during the last 5 years of...
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References
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© 2009 Springer-Verlag GmbH Berlin Heidelberg
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Blum, H.E., Moradpour, D. (2009). Hepatocellular Carcinoma. In: Lang, F. (eds) Encyclopedia of Molecular Mechanisms of Disease. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-29676-8_778
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-29676-8_778
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-67136-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-540-29676-8
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