Pathology of hepatocellular carcinoma - Kōjiro, M. (Blackwell Pub., 2006)
Includes bibliographical references and index
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) used to be considered a major problem for Asian and African countries only but more recently there has been a huge increase in the incidence of HCC in Western countries. Due to the incidence of the disease, Japanese physicians and pathologists are the world leaders in research and experience. Only 30 years ago there was very little interest in the study of the pathology of HCC due to the fact that most HCCs were detected in the advanced stages when patients were given a prognosis of only 3-6 months. In more recent years there have been huge advances made in the clinical diagnosis of liver cancer, in particular through imaging, and the establishment of follow-up systems in high-risk populations. These measures have led to an increasing number of HCCs being detected in the relatively early stages resulting in successful treatment.
The developments in imaging have also led to the identification of equivocal small nodular lesions suggestive of pre-malignant lesions or early-stage HCC. These present a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge for both pathologists and clinicians.; These recent developments in the diagnosis and management of HCC have resulted in considerable demand in information from pathologists and clinicians: the number of international seminars and symposia on HCC has dramatically increased as a result. Most of the current books on the pathology of HCC are based on the study of autopsy cases of advanced HCC and do not fully address the remarkable clinical advances that have been made in recent years. It is often difficult to diagnose the early stage HCC and pre-malignant lesions by the classical pathological information. In particular, it is almost impossible to make a precise biopsy diagnosis for small nodular lesions.
This book covers the huge advances made in clinical diagnosis and treatment of liver cancer. It brings you the most up-to-date pathological information of HCC mostly based on the study of surgical and biopsy materials with special reference to premalignant lesions and early stage HCC. It is ideal for liver pathologists, hepatologists and liver surgeons