Stereotactic radiation therapy, a radical local treatment for early-stage small hepatocellular carcinoma
Stereotactic radiation therapy (SBRT) is the primary treatment for early-stage small hepatocellular carcinoma.
SBRT can be delivered in a single (aka stereotactic radiosurgery), or limited, high-dose split radiation to a precisely targeted, small area target, with the irradiation dose precisely converging on the target lesion, minimizing radiation exposure to nearby normal tissue.
SBRT greatly enhances the biological effects and improves the effectiveness of radiotherapy for hepatocellular carcinoma as a radical local treatment compared to conventional dose-splitting external radiotherapy.
Effects of SBRT for early-stage small hepatocellular carcinoma
In China, the local control rates of SBRT treatment at 1 and 2 years were 90.9% and 84.1%, respectively; and the overall survival rates at 1, 2, 3, and 5 years were 94.1%, 81.9%, 73.5%, and 64.3%, respectively, similar to those of surgical resection, liver transplantation, or radiofrequency ablation.
So patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who are unsuitable for or unwilling to undergo tumor resection, liver transplantation, and radiofrequency ablation, or who have limited access to these treatments in a timely manner, may undergo SBRT.
After surgical resection, liver transplantation or radiofrequency ablation treatment, if there is tumor residual or recurrence, it can also be performed SBRT.