Locoregional treatments for hepatocellular carcinoma: Current evidence and future directions

Table 1 Codified locoregional treatments: Indications, advantages and disadvantages

	Indications	Advantages	Disadvantages
Ablation (RFA)	BCLC-A patients	Curative	Low complication rates rates in HCC > 3 cm
		New devices (MWA, Cryoablation, HIFU, Laser, IRE)	Relatively unfeasible in “complex” sites/lesions
TACE	BCLC-B patients without PVT	Super-selective delivery	Palliative
		Great variety of materials	Heterogeneous population
			No standardization
Combined therapy (RFA + TACE)	Selected BCLC-A/B patients	Complimentary and synergistic effect	No standardization
		Better than RFA and TACE alone
SIRT	Selected BCLC-B/C patients not amenable for TACE or Sorafenib	Super-selective delivery	High costs

HCC: Hepatocellular carcinoma; RFA: Radiofrequency ablation; MWA: Microwave ablation; IRE: Irreversible electroporation; TACE: Trans-arterial chemoembolization; SIRT: Selective internal radiation therapy.