Posts by Mourabit Halima

Liver cancer has become the 6th most common and the 3rd leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. For liver cancer patients, surgery is the preferred method to completely eliminate tumors and achieve long-term survival. However, the majority of liver cancer patients still face late diagnoses and low survival rates. In recent years, the systemic treatment of liver cancer has progressed rapidly, with new immunotherapies and targeted drugs emerging, promoting continuous innovation in liver cancer treatment concepts and schemes. From July 6-8, 2023, the 13th Asia-Pacific Primary Liver Cancer Expert Meeting (APPLE 2023) was grandly held in Seoul, South Korea. At the conference, Dr. Hanchong Toh from the National Cancer Centre Singapore shared the latest developments in immune adjuvant therapy for liver cancer.

The diagnosis of liver cancer involves three aspects, including imaging, blood test results, and biopsy pathology results. Typically, the diagnosis of a tumor is confirmed only under a microscope after obtaining pathological tissue. However, liver cancer has its unique characteristics, and its diagnosis can be based on cirrhosis and confirmed through imaging tests such as computer tomography scans and magnetic resonance imaging. At the recently concluded 13th Asia-Pacific Primary Liver Cancer Expert Conference (APPLE 2023), Dr. Kathryn J. Fowler from the University of California, San Diego, shared insights from the perspective of a radiologist on the effectiveness and reliability of liver cancer imaging in clinical diagnosis, as well as the positive role of imaging in the classification and prognosis prediction of liver cancer patients. Hepatology Digest had the privilege of conducting an in-depth interview with Dr. Fowler at the conference, and we have compiled the content for our readers.

In recent years, there has been rapid progress in the systemic treatment of liver cancer, with new immunotherapies and targeted therapies continually emerging. This has also driven ongoing innovation in the concepts and approaches for treating HCC. From July 6th to 8th, 2023, the 13th Asia-Pacific Primary Liver Cancer Experts Conference (APPLE 2023) was held in Seoul, South Korea. During the conference, one of the founders of APPLE, Dr. Masatoshi Kudo from Kindai University in Japan, shared the latest research developments in systemic treatment for intermediate HCC and its potential applications. Hepatology Digest had the privilege of conducting an in-depth interview with Dr. Kudo at the APPLE conference. Here, we present the contents of that interview for our readers.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignancies in China, with most patients diagnosed in the intermediate to advanced stages. The formation of portal vein tumor thrombus (PVTT) is a critical indicator of HCC progression, and patients with HCC combined with PVTT have a very poor prognosis. Previous studies have shown that low-dose radiotherapy can extend the survival of HCC patients with PVTT. From July 6th to 8th, 2023, the 13th Asia-Pacific Primary Liver Cancer Expert Meeting (APPLE 2023) was held in Seoul, South Korea. At the conference, a team led by Academician Jiahong Dong, Dr. Gong Li, and Dr. Keran Li from Beijing Tsinghua Chang Gung Hospital,  Tsinghua University, China, presented a clinical study (Abstract Number: PE-97), investigating whether PVTT is more sensitive to radiotherapy than the primary tumor and exploring the efficacy of downstaging treatment in HCC patients with PVTT through the combination of radiotherapy, anti-angiogenic medication, and immunotherapy. Hepatology Digest had the privilege of inviting Dr. Gong Li to share the results of this research and its clinical application prospects.