Since 1980, the incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has tripled in the United States. The uptick in this deadly liver cancer was thankfully accompanied by the introduction of new and improved methods of treating it. Recent years have seen the approval of several systemic HCC systemic therapies, including molecularly targeted therapies and immunotherapies.
With such increasing options, however, there is a corresponding need for better guidance as how to use these treatments. Therefore, the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) convened a multidisciplinary panel to weigh the evidence for and against these various approved systemic therapies for HCC. The fruit of those efforts can be seen in recently published AGA guidelines, which offer 11 recommendations for first- and second-line therapy for patients with advanced-stage HCC.
To find out more about these guidelines, Medscape contributor Nancy S. Reau, MD, chief of the hepatology section at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, spoke with HCC expert Amit Singal, MD, professor of internal medicine and chief of hepatology at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas. Dr Singal noted that although the AGA panel's recommendations "were conditional and supported by low or very low levels of evidence," they nonetheless have significant implications for gastroenterologists.
Amit Singal, MD
