Tumores Hepáticos 2012
Introduction
EASL–EORTC Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPG) on the management of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) define the use of surveillance, diagnosis, and therapeutic strategies recommended for
patients with this type of cancer. This is the first European joint
effort by the European Association for the Study of the Liver
(EASL) and the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) to provide common guidelines for the
management of hepatocellular carcinoma. These guidelines
update the recommendations reported by the EASL panel of
experts in HCC published in 2001 [1]. Several clinical and scientific advances have occurred during the past decade and, thus, a
modern version of the document is urgently needed.
The purpose of this document is to assist physicians, patients,
health-care providers, and health-policy makers from Europe and
worldwide in the decision-making process according to evidencebased data. Users of these guidelines should be aware that the
recommendations are intended to guide clinical practice in circumstances where all possible resources and therapies are available. Thus, they should adapt the recommendations to their local
regulations and/or team capacities, infrastructure, and cost–
benefit strategies. Finally, this document sets out some recommendations that should be instrumental in advancing the
research and knowledge of this disease and ultimately contribute
to improve patient care.
The EASL–EORTC CPG on the management of hepatocellular
carcinoma provide recommendations based on the level of evi
