Impact of Delayed Treatment on Hepatocellular Carcinoma Outcomes
Summary
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) ranks among the leading causes of cancer mortality worldwide, and prompt intervention is critical to improve prognosis. Delays between diagnosis and initiation of curative or palliative therapy can arise from systemic barriers, resource constraints and acute disruptions such as pandemic-related service interruptions. Prolonged intervals to treatment are associated with progression to more advanced stages, reduced eligibility for curative resection or transplantation and diminished overall survival. The effect of delay varies with tumour biology, underlying liver function and staging at presentation. Evidence indicates that early-stage patients experience the greatest relative loss in survival when therapy is deferred. Conversely, some cohorts have shown resilience of one-year survival despite moderate delays, particularly for intermediate-stage disease managed with locoregional approaches. Collectively, these findings underscore the global imperative for streamlined pathways, robust multidisciplinary coordination and equitable access to diagnostic and therapeutic modalities to mitigate adverse outcomes.
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Impact of Delayed Treatment on Hepatocellular Carcinoma Outcomes publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in impact of delayed treatment on hepatocellular carcinoma outcomes across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC): The most common primary malignancy of the liver, arising from hepatocytes.
Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) staging: A system that stratifies HCC patients by tumour stage, liver function and performance status to guide treatment.
Overall survival (OS): The duration from diagnosis or treatment initiation to death from any cause.
Hazard ratio (HR): A measure from survival analysis indicating the relative risk of an event occurring in one group compared with another.
Multidisciplinary meeting (MDM): A coordinated discussion among specialists to determine optimal management plans for cancer patients.
Transarterial chemoembolization (TACE): A locoregional therapy that delivers chemotherapy directly to the liver tumour while occluding its blood supply.
References
- Influence of the time interval from diagnosis to treatment on survival for early-stage liver cancer. PLOS ONE (2018).
- Impact of COVID-19 on 1-Year Survival Outcomes in Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Multicenter Cohort Study. Cancers (2023).
- Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on patients with hepatocellular carcinoma in the West of Scotland: a cohort study. BMJ Open Gastroenterology (2023).
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