Radiosensitivity of hepatocellular carcinoma

摘要

The frequency of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is increasing in the western world and the role of radiotherapy is more and more discussed. Classically, hepatocellular carcinoma was considered as a radioresistant tumour: in fact, modern radiobiologic studies, performed on cell lines directly established from patients, showed that hepatocellular carcinoma has the same radiosensitivity than the other epithelial tumours. From clinical studies, its alpha/beta ratio has been estimated to be around 15 Gy. Radiosensitivity of normal hepatic parenchyma is now well evaluated and some accurate NTCP models are available to guide hepatic irradiation. The biology of hepatocellular carcinoma is also better described: the combination of radiotherapy and targeted therapies will be a promising approach in the near future.