Christodoulidis G, Bartzi D, Koumarelas KE. Anticipation for hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma. World J Gastrointest Oncol 2025; 17(2): 100505 [DOI: 10.4251/wjgo.v17.i2.100505]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Grigorios Christodoulidis, PhD, Department of General Surgery, University Hospital of Larissa, Memou Makri 39, Larissa 41335, Greece. gregsurg@yahoo.gr
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. Feb 15, 2025; 17(2): 100505 Published online Feb 15, 2025. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v17.i2.100505
Anticipation for hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma
Grigorios Christodoulidis, Dimitra Bartzi, Konstantinos E Koumarelas
Grigorios Christodoulidis, Department of General Surgery, University Hospital of Larissa, Larissa 41335, Greece
Dimitra Bartzi, Department of Oncology, The 251 Airforce General Hospital, Athens 11525, Greece
Konstantinos E Koumarelas, Department of Emergency Medicine, General Hospital of Larissa, Larissa 41221, Greece
Author contributions: Christodoulidis G designed the overall concept and outline of the manuscript; Christodoulidis G, Bartzi D, and Koumarelas KE contributed to the discussion, design, writing, editing the manuscript, and review of literature; and all authors thoroughly reviewed and endorsed the final manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
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: Grigorios Christodoulidis, PhD, Department of General Surgery, University Hospital of Larissa, Memou Makri 39, Larissa 41335, Greece. gregsurg@yahoo.gr
Received: August 18, 2024 Revised: October 16, 2024 Accepted: November 12, 2024 Published online: February 15, 2025 Processing time: 152 Days and 20.5 Hours
Abstract
Hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy (HAIC) is an advanced targeted therapeutic approach for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common type of primary liver cancer. HAIC has demonstrated significant potential in managing advanced HCC, particularly in regions with high prevalence rates. Despite its promise, several challenges and areas for future research remain. Clinical studies have substantiated the efficacy of HAIC in enhancing survival outcomes for patients with advanced hepatic carcinoma. Notably, combination therapies involving immune checkpoint inhibitors, such as lenvatinib and programmed death-1 inhibitors, have shown substantial improvements in median overall survival and progression-free survival compared to systemic chemotherapy. These combination therapies have also exhibited superior response rates and disease control, with manageable and often less severe adverse events relative to systemic treatments. This article is based on the review by Zhou et al and aims to discuss the current status and future directions in the treatment of HCC, emphasizing the role of HAIC and its integration with novel therapeutic agents.
Core Tip: Hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy (HAIC) is emerging as a pivotal targeted therapy for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. By tailoring clinical trials, HAIC particularly when combined with immune checkpoint inhibitors such as lenvatinib and programmed cell death-1 inhibitors, significantly enhances overall survival and progression-free survival compared to traditional systemic chemotherapy. These combination therapies not only improve response rates and disease control but also maintain manageable side effects, highlighting their therapeutic potential. Future research should aim to optimize HAIC protocols and investigate novel therapeutic combinations to further advance treatment outcomes for hepatocellular carcinoma patients.
