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Treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma with Thalidomide: Assessment with Power Doppler Ultrasound

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Liver Cancer

Part of the book series: Methods of Cancer Diagnosis, Therapy and Prognosis ((HAYAT,volume 5))

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Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is typically a hypervascular tumor and anti-angiogenesis therapy may be effective for the treatment of HCC. Thalidomide has been shown to inhibit angiogenesis induced by various proangiogenic factors and may produce objective tumor response in various cancers. In HCC, thalidomide may produce complete or partial remission in ~ 4–7% of patients and disease stabilization in 10–20% patients with advanced disease. We have performed a prospective study using power Doppler ultrasound to evaluate the vascular response to thalidomide treatment in patients with advanced HCC. Patients who achieved objective tumor response to thalidomide tended to have a higher pretreatment vascularity index, defined as the number of colored (vascular) pixels within a well-demarcated tumor area divided by the number of total pixels in that area, than patients who did not. The pretreatment vascularity index also correlated with levels of circulating angiogenic factors. The value of power Doppler ultrasound in future clinical trials of anti-angiogenesis therapy of HCC is discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Oncology and Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, 7, Chung-Shan South Road, Taipei, 10002, Taiwan

    Chiun Hsu, Chiung-Nien Chen & Ann-Lii Cheng

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  1. Chiun Hsu
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  2. Chiung-Nien Chen
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  1. Department of Biological Sciences, Kean University, Union, NJ, USA

    M. A. Hayat  & M. A. Hayat  & 

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Hsu, C., Chen, CN., Cheng, AL. (2009). Treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma with Thalidomide: Assessment with Power Doppler Ultrasound. In: Hayat, M.A. (eds) Liver Cancer. Methods of Cancer Diagnosis, Therapy and Prognosis, vol 5. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-9804-8_21

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-9804-8_21

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