Asian Conference on Tumor Ablation Guidelines for Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Globally, the incidence and associated mortality of primary liver cancer have been steadily increasing. Currently, 80% of cases are found in Asia. Curative resection is applicable in only 20% of patients; therefore, various nonsurgical treatment modalities have been developed. Image-guided percutaneous liver tumor ablation is regarded as the best option for treating early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, skills and knowledge in ablation can vary among operators. Furthermore, Asia has the highest number of ablation procedures for HCC and the largest number of doctors performing ablation worldwide. Thus, the Asian Conference on Tumor Ablation has developed guidelines for HCC. These guidelines will discuss indications, pre-ablative diagnosis and planning, techniques, peri-ablative management, evaluation of therapeutic effectiveness, complications, post-ablative follow-up, prevention of recurrence, and treatment of recurrence for HCC.