Management of Hepatocellular Carcinoma *

Abstract

PreambleThese recommendations provide a data-supported approach to the diagnosis, staging and treatment of patients diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).They are based on the following: (a) formal review and analysis of the recently-published world literature on the topic (Medline search through early 2005); (b) American College of Physicians Manual for Assessing Health Practices and Designing Practice Guidelines. 1 (c) guideline policies, including the AASLD Policy on the Development and Use of Practice Guidelines and the AGA Policy Statement on Guidelines 2 ; (d) the experience of the authors in the specified topic.We have also reviewed the guidelines prepared at the time of the Monothematic Conference of the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) 3 and the practice of authors experienced in the field.Intended for use by physicians, these recommendations suggest preferred approaches to the diagnostic, therapeutic, and preventive aspects of care.They are intended to be flexible, in contrast to standards of care, which are inflexible policies to be followed in every case.Specific recommendations are based on relevant published information.In an attempt to characterize the quality of evidence supporting recommendations, the Practice Guidelines Committee of the AASLD requires a category to be assigned and reported with each recommendation (Table 1).These recommendations are fully endorsed by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.