Caliskan Yildirim E, Ergun Y. Advancing hepatocellular carcinoma treatment with hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy. World J Gastrointest Oncol 2024; 16(12): 4757-4761 [DOI: 10.4251/wjgo.v16.i12.4757]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Yakup Ergun, MD, Associate Professor, Department of Medical Oncology, Bower Hospital, Yenisehir, Elazıg Street, Diyarbakır 21100, Türkiye. dr.yakupergun@gmail.com
Research Domain of This Article
Oncology
Article-Type of This Article
Letter to the Editor
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Gastrointest Oncol. Dec 15, 2024; 16(12): 4757-4761 Published online Dec 15, 2024. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v16.i12.4757
Advancing hepatocellular carcinoma treatment with hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy
Eda Caliskan Yildirim, Yakup Ergun
Eda Caliskan Yildirim, Department of Medical Oncology, Sincan Training and Research Hospital, Ankara 06100, Türkiye
Yakup Ergun, Department of Medical Oncology, Bower Hospital, Diyarbakır 21100, Türkiye
Author contributions: Caliskan Yildirim E reviewed the literature and wrote the manuscript; Ergun Y contributed to the discussion and design of the manuscript; All authors reviewed, edited, and approved the final manuscript and revised it critically for important intellectual content, gave final approval of the version to be published and agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Yakup Ergun, MD, Associate Professor, Department of Medical Oncology, Bower Hospital, Yenisehir, Elazıg Street, Diyarbakır 21100, Türkiye. dr.yakupergun@gmail.com
Received: July 19, 2024 Revised: October 9, 2024 Accepted: October 18, 2024 Published online: December 15, 2024 Processing time: 116 Days and 2.5 Hours
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains a major challenge in oncology, being a leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. Early-stage HCC is typically treated with surgical resection, transplantation, or ablation, while advanced-stage HCC relies on systemic therapies like sorafenib and newer combinations such as atezolizumab-bevacizumab. Despite these advancements, there is still a need for effective treatments for unresectable HCC, especially in cases with macroscopic vascular invasion. Hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy (HAIC) has demonstrated promising outcomes in Asia for the treatment of unresectable HCC, yet its application in Western countries has been relatively limited. This letter reviews the recent meta-analysis by Zhou et al published in the World Journal of Gastrointestinal Oncology, which demonstrates the efficacy and safety of HAIC vs sorafenib. The analysis includes 9 randomized controlled trials and 35 cohort studies, highlighting significant improvements in overall survival, progression-free survival, and objective response rates with HAIC and its combinations. The editorial explores the reasons behind the limited use of HAIC in Western countries. It underscores the potential of HAIC to enhance treatment outcomes for advanced HCC and calls for more research and broader adoption of HAIC in clinical practice globally.
Core Tip: Hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy (HAIC) is shown to be a highly effective and safer treatment for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. Despite its success in Asia, HAIC is underutilized in western countries. Further research and clinical trials in diverse populations are essential to validate HAIC’s benefits and integrate it into global oncology practices.
