Hepatocellular carcinoma is a serious threat to global health. Surgery remains the best curative therapy
but only a small number of patients may benefit. Non-surgical therapies are playing an increasingly important
role for hepatocellular carcinoma. In this chapter, the authors aim to review the current non-surgical approaches
to hepatocellular carcinoma, including transcatheter arterial (chemo) embolization, cryoablation, percutaneous
ethanol injection, radiofrequency ablation, and interstitial laser coagulation, with a special emphasis on the
molecular basis of these therapies. Understanding the underlying biological and molecular mechanisms of
hepatocellular carcinoma will not only help surgeons to refine existing techniques, but may also help us develop
novel therapeutic approaches.
Keywords: Hepatocellular carcinoma, Non-surgical therapies, Molecular mechanisms.
